"When most people think of Africa, images of business and commerce don't usually spring to mind -- more like wildlife, safaris and famine," suggests Nathan Slaughter.

In The ETF Authority, he explains, "But those perceptions are beginning to change as these countries continue to industrialize. And at the vanguard of this transformation is South Africa." Here, he looks at the iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSE: EZA).

Slaughter explains, "Once a backwater country shunned by most of the international community, South Africa has made great strides over the past decade and continues to evolve. Fifteen years ago the government began an aggressive overhaul of South Africa's economy.

Continue reading Out of Africa: ETF expert eyes South Africa

Out of Africa: ETF expert eyes South Africa originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Golf has Tiger Woods, novelists have Tom Clancy, and the investment community has stars such as Bruce Berkowitz, Bill Nygren, Charlie Dreifus, and Mario Gabelli," states Paul Tracy.

In his The Street Authority Market Advisor, he suggests, "These money managers are at the pinnacle of their craft." Here, he takes a look at these "celebrities" and some of their current top stock holdings.

"These money managers have all amassed prodigious gains over the years for their shareholders. Over the past few months, these gurus have come out with ringing endorsements for certain stocks. This isn't empty talk -- they are putting their money where their mouth is.

Continue reading Investing with the stars: Top stocks from top managers

Investing with the stars: Top stocks from top managers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Mountains of money are about to be spent on the water industry," says exchange-traded fund expert Paul Tracy.

In his The ETF Authority, the advisor adds, "All things considered, my favorite way to invest in the water sector is through the PowerShares Global Water Portfolio (AMEX: PIO)."

"PIO tracks a benchmark that has delivered the strongest gains in the group by a comfortable margin.

"For the last five years, through the end of last quarter, the Palisades Global Water Index has posted annualized returns of 24.9%, for a cumulative gain of 204% -- versus just 44% for the S&P 500. In other words, a $10,000 investment made in 2003 would be worth more than $30,000 today.

"Yet, the portfolio is still the most attractively valued -- the average holding is trading at just 2.5 times book value and 13 times earnings.

"Shareholders in the ETF will have a stake in companies like Veolia Environment, the world's leading provider of water and wastewater treatment.

"Other top holdings include Kurita, which supplies ultra-pure water for semiconductor manufacturing and makes reverse osmosis seawater desalination systems for remote islands; and Hyflux, a leading maker of water recycling technology used in Singapore and China.

Continue reading Global gains in water sector

Global gains in water sector originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.