"The current market volatility makes us want to run for shelter, a safe haven," notes Richard Lehmann, editor of The ETF Investor. One such haven he sees is health science, and offers an ETF for the sector.

"Other than Treasury bonds, which have their own risks, cash is certainly the safest. One might think of gold or natural resources as a safe haven, but once economies slow down, demand there will fall as well. Either way these safe havens are likely to be volatile in the near future.

"The health care sector is not as dependent on the overall economy and may be a safe harbor for now. There are a number of ETF's and closed end funds that cover this sector.

"The one we find most compelling is the Blackrock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME) mainly because it captures the value in volatility by writing options on their holdings. The option writing activity moderates price swings and adds income to the fund.

"It invests in healthcare providers, healthcare equipment, pharmaceuticals and biotech companies. The fund is currently trading at $27.80 a -6.84% discount from its net asset value. The yield is 5.53%, which helps as an additional cushion. The expense ratio is high at 1.13%, but is somewhat offset by the -6.84% discount from net asset value."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Blackrock Health Sciences (BME): Safe haven in a 'healthly' ETF originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While an individual investor might not be comfortable on their own using a buy-write call strategy income expert Richard Lehmann uncovers a closed-end fund that allows the investor to easily participate in this othereise sophisticated options approach that is used to generate high income.

In his Income Security Advisor ETF Investor he explains, "Buy-write funds have the advantage of moderating market swings because of the covered call writing strategy and because the funds have a yield that tends to support the stock price."

He notes that the BlackRock family of buy-write funds have taken a hit in the last month, which he says is "for no discernable reason." The result? "We think these are great buys at current prices," he says.

In particular, he likes the BlackRock World Investment Trust (NYSE:BWC) which he notes invests in global equity securities, using a buy-writes strategy to enhance its dividend payouts."

According to Lehmann, the fund invests at least 75% of its assets in equities and may invest up to 25% of its assets in income producing securities such as bonds and preferreds. He adds that the fund invests 29% of its funds in the U.S. with the next highest country the United Kingdom at 12%. The remainder is invested in concentrations of less than 8%.

He explains, "The fund writes covered calls on about 45% of its holdings. The fund invests in various sectors with the highest concentration in finance and banking." Lehmann points out that the fund trades at a 3.07% discount to its net asset value and yields 8.32%.

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Bet on Blackrock fund for high income originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.