Barclay Ishares

Barclay's iShares S&P 500 helps you bet on the S&P 500. They are cheaper than SPDR’s. While the expense ratio of SPDR’s are 0.12%, for iShares it is just 0.09%. No wonder that it growing in popularity. In fact, Barclay's iShares was the third fastest growing fund group in 2004. But research shows that Fidelity and ETrade index mutual funds are now cheaper than many comparable iShares. However the fact remains that online brokerages are strongly promoting the iShares. Also, hedge funds will always use them because index mutual funds cannot be shorted.

Barclay's iShares have an international ETF for nearly every Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index in existence — the standard indexes used by nearly every international investor.

The iShares Lehman 20+ Treasury Bond Fund follows the performance of long-term U.S. debt, while the iShares Goldman Sachs Investop Corporate Bond Fund (LQD:Amex) tracks an index of investment-grade corporate issues. Both funds are run by Barclays and contain the brokerage names only because those firms created the underlying indices.

As an open-end fund, an ETF is unable to have in excess of 25% of its assets in a single stock at the end of a fiscal quarter. But there have been exceptions. For example, some of the regional ETF’s are dominated by a single company. Such as, Nortel Networks was able to dominate iShares Canada in the mid-2000, and because of this, the ETF was forced to sell down its stakes, creating a lot of capital gains for its shareholders. There is also something more. You will also need to keep in mind that international ETF’s are not as tax efficient as they are made out to be.

But if you're looking to profit from the market, this is a good option for you. Studies have shown that the Fortune 500 ETF offers lower risks and better returns.