Investing is still as popular now as it was before the economic crash of the past year or so and one thing is for sure it will never be unpopular. For as long as there is a way to make money from it there will be a huge interest in it.
Fundamentals are where your aim is to predict ETF futures prices taking into account various factors such as supply, demand, weather conditions, interest rates, government policy and various other factors that affect the economy. If you are an economist then you are in a good position to be able to monitor many different factors on a daily basis with any thoroughness.
Technical analysis on the other hand tries to identify trends and take advantage of them. This perhaps is the more practical method for most people to use with their ETF investment.
Take an example here to illustrate this further. Lets say that a hurricane is approaching the US and oil prices in the Gulf coast begin to rise in anticipation of this happening. The price is already moving when the knowledge of the hurricane became available and not when the hurricane hits.
Technical analysis, it can be argued, can determine more accurately how far a market is going to rise or fall than can fundamental analysis. With fundamental analysis you can only predict this on past performance alone which is something of a guessing game.
You can also utilize other market trading techniques such as short selling and put and call options. Many ETF investors follow the market by using trend trading techniques although this is a somewhat risky method to use. Your understanding of the market has to be in depth but again, there are ways to minimize the risks.
So over all, exchange traded funds are a great way to invest capital. You have the security in diversifying your shares while at the same time having the flexibility of intra-day trading to maximize gains and minimize potential losses. Furthermore you can use put options to minimize risk further and other forms of options to add to investment flexibility further. Good luck with your trading!
