New Kids On The Block: Global X's Top New ETFs

When we restarted our New Kids On The Block Feature last week, not only did we notice a spike in readership among women 30-38 thanking us for helping rekindle some fond junior high memories, we touched on one of 2011's most prolific issuers of new ETFs. In that case, we highlighted ETFs introduced by First Trust. Well, we're going back to the well with a firm that has rolled out a slew of new ETFs in 2011, that being Global X. Global X recently announced it will close eight ETFs it introduced this year in February 2012, but even with those closures, the firm has still rolled out plenty of new ETFs across a broad range of niches, including dividend funds, emerging markets and sector plays. Let's look at five of the more popular members of Global X's rookie class. Global X SuperDividend ETF SDIV: Inception date: June 8th Year-to-date performance: -18% Average volume: 22,700 Investor Appeal Grade: B+. SDIV has hauled in $29 million in assets under management and we'd venture to say that total would be higher if the broader market was more bullish this year. Plenty of new dividend ETFs have come to market this year, but SDIV does enough to distinguish itself and ensure it will not only survive, but thrive. Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF ASEA: Inception date: February 16th Year-to-date performance: -2% Average volume: 9,000 Investor Appeal Grade: B. This is another case where we believe the grade would be higher if not for factors beyond the ETF's control. With almost $21 million in AUM, ASEA is the lone ETF devoted exclusively to the booming ASEAN region. Plus, the ETF has outperformed plenty of U.S. sector funds and emerging markets ETFs this year. We expect bigger things from this fund in 2012. Global X FTSE Andean 40 ETF AND Inception date: February 2nd Year-to-date performance: -14% Average volume: 3,960 Investor Appeal Grade: B-. That grade is appropriate for now. Not terrible, not awesome. That said, AND is an interesting fund in that it only offers exposure to Chile, Colombia and Peru. Most multi-country LatAm ETFs involve Brazil, so AND with almost $6.5 million in AUM, is unique in some respects. If Brazilian stocks bounce back in 2012, AND will be one ETF that benefits because a rising tide from Brazil usually lifts Latin America's sails. Global X Social Media Index ETF SOCL: Inception date: November 14 Year-to-date performance: -12% Average volume: 9,060 Investor Appeal Grade: A. Hear us out here. Yes, the Global X Social Media ETF has taken its lumps at the hands of many ETF pundits and its performance out of the gate isn't awe-inspiring. The reality is the worst thing that can be said of SOCL is that it came to market before social media stocks truly matured and if that's the worst thing, that's not so bad. The new year will be an interesting one for SOCL as the ETF could either be validated or repudiated as social media stocks swim or sink. Global X Nasdaq 500 ETF QQQV: Inception date: December 5th Year-to-date performance: -2% Average volume: 1,340 Investor Appeal Grade: B+. This one might be too new to really comment on, but almost $2.5 million in AUM in less than a month of trading when that month is December is pretty impressive. And we've already noted QQQV is a good way for Apple AAPL to get some solid exposure to that stock.