State Street Global Advisors launched a new ETF with investments in non-convertible preferred stocks (ticker PSK, IndexUniverse). Similar ETFs already on the market, PGX and PFF, are up 20% and 33% YTD, respectively. The preferred shares in the fund are rated investment grade and have minimum trading volume requirements. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.45%. The PSK exchanged traded fund would be attractive to investors that are looking for income, potential capital gains growth, and safety given that preferred shares pay a fixed dividend, can appreciate like normal common stock, and are higher on the food chain compared to common stock in the event of bankruptcy.

The State Street Global Investor Confidence Index rose 3.1 points from the April reading of 103.2 (see Hedge Fund Review article). The North American version of the index rose 9.6 points to 104.9. For the index, anything over 100 indicates that institutional investors are increasing allocations to risky assets, indicating that investors in North America, and in general across the globe, are adding more risky assets (i.e., more equities) to their portfolios. On the other hand, the indexes for Europe and Asia are still below the 100 benchmark. While the Europe index rose 7.5 points to 84.3, the Asia index fell 4.9 points to 93.1. Time will tell which regions are leading or lagging indicators of the global markets, or if a contrarian move is in order.

As reported at IndexUniverse, State Street Global Advisors is now offering 10 new sector ETFs:

• SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Consumer Staples Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Energy Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Financial Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Health Care Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Industrial Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Materials Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Telecommunications Sector ETF
  
• SPDR S&P International Utilities Sector ETF

What is unique about these particular ETFs, compared to those offered by Barclays Global Investors and WisdomTree, is that the new State Street sector ETFs exclude U.S. listed companies, allowing for easier global sector diversification for those already invested in U.S. based sector funds.