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ETF Specialist

Looking Back at April Through an ETF Lens

Global markets picked themselves up off the mat last month.

Ben Johnson
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Global financial markets picked themselves off the canvas and came back swinging in April. Here, I will look at how major asset classes performed, where investors were putting their money, and whether there may still be bargains--all through the lens of exchange-traded funds.

Don't Call It a Comeback
Most major asset classes bounced back in April. Of the 2,130 nonleveraged exchange-traded products in Morningstar’s U.S. database, just 160 (7.5%) posted losses for the month. Prominent among them were funds investing in municipal bonds and ETPs that invest in oil futures. Municipal bond markets saw continued price pressure in April; the outlook for state and local government budgets continues to deteriorate as tax revenues shrivel. Oil-based ETPs experienced sharp price declines as lousy market fundamentals kept pressure on prices and the front-month futures contract tipped into negative territory for the first time in history.

Ben Johnson has a position in the following securities mentioned above: IJH, IJR. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.

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