ETFs weather the fiscal storm

The ETF 50 Index, increased 4.7% in September, marking its largest monthly gain this year. The benchmark, which contains 50 of the most-held exchange traded funds, advanced 3.5% in the third quarter and finished 11.5% ahead in the first nine months of 2007 September's largest gainers included the iShares Brazil Index, which increased 19.5%: iShares FTSE/Xinhau China 50 Index, up 19.8%; iShares Latin America 40, which rose 13.8%; and iShares Emerging Markets Index, which advanced 11.6%. The StreetTracks Gold Shares increased 10.5% in September, reflecting inflation fears stemming from the Federal Reserve's half-point cut in interest rates during the month. Small caps, finance and value securities were the weakest groups among domestic stocks. The iShares Russell 2000 Index increased 1.5%, the Financial SPDR rose 1.7% and iShares S&P Mid Cap 400 Barra Value 1.4%. ETF investors recorded gains of $17.2 billion in September, bringing their year-to-date profits to $48.54 billion, said Tim Middleton, editor of the monthly ETF Insider newsletter, in a statement.