ETFs are trusts, which contain a basket of stocks that mirror the performance of recognized stock indexes. They are easy to trade, highly liquid, more tax-efficient than traditional mutual funds but unlike mutual funds, they can be bought and sold at any point during the trading day providing liquidity not found in open-end mutual funds. Trading ETFs can be a successful strategy in both bull and bear markets. They are a great way to gain low cost exposure to specific sectors, industry groups or global markets.

The Market Edge ETF Center is designed to give financial advisors and money managers a comprehensive, easy to use, diversified strategy when investing in any kind of market environment. The Market Edge ETF Center groups over 500 ETFs into 47 categories or groups based on the composition of the various ETFs. These categories include various equity investment styles, bonds, global markets, commodities and specialty sectors.

The categories are rated as either Strong, Improving, Deteriorating or Weak. In addition, each category is designated a Strength Rating which can be Outperform, Perform or Underperform. The Strength Rating is a projection on how the ETF category should perform over the intermediate-term relative to the S&P 500. Finally, clicking on the ETF Category will display a list of all of the ETFs in the group along with their individual Conditions and Strength Ratings. Clicking on the ETF symbol will retrieve the Second Opinion report.

Just like Industry Groups, certain categories of ETFs tend to move in concert as the group comes in or out of favor with big institutional investors. The Market Edge ETF Center attempts to identify those categories which are poised for either a significant up or down move over the intermediate-term.

When approaching the market from the long side (bullish), click on the ETF Center and then on either Strong or Improving. Now click on the categories with an Outperform Strength Rating. You can rank the categories by clicking on most of the headings at the top of the page. Click on a specific category to retrieve a list of the ETFs which are included in the group. Again, note those ETFs with a Long Opinion, a 0 Score and an Outperform Strength Rating. To retrieve the Market Edge Second Opinion report, simply click on the ETF symbol.

Conversely, if approaching the market from the short side (bearish), reverse the process. Choose categories with either a Weak or Deteriorating condition and then on those with an Underperform Strength Rating. Finally, consider ETFs with Avoid Opinions and Underperform Strength Rankings as potential short-sale candidates.

The Market Edge Strength Rating is a proprietary performance indicator, which projects the likely relative performance of a stock or ETF over the intermediate-term. Strength Ratings are calculated by comparing the performance of the stock or ETF to the S&P 500 over the previous ten trading days. Stocks or ETFs which have outperformed the S&P 500 over this period typically continue to be strong and receive an Outperform designation. Conversely, stocks or ETFs which have underperformed the S&P 500 over the previous ten day period typically continue to be weak and are categorized as Under Perform. All other conditions imply a Market Performer. Relative Performance is a measurement of a stock or ETFs performance relative to a market benchmark. A commonly referenced benchmark is a typically broad based index such as the S&P 500. If a stock or an ETF appreciated by 25%, but the benchmark appreciated by 50%, the stock underperformed the market by 25%. If the stock decreased by 25%, while the benchmark decreased by 50%, it means that the stock outperformed the market by 25%.