An ETF Robin Hood Would Love

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One of the newest ETFs to hit the street this summer is designed to benefit investors through the spending habits of the wealthy. The Claymore/Robb Report Global Luxury Index ETF (NYSE: ROB) may well live up to its ticker symbol and be a modern-day version of Robin Hood.

With an expense ratio of 0.70%, however, the fund itself is pricey. The fund tracks the Robb Report Global Luxury Index, an index made up of companies whose primary business is to provide luxury goods and services.

There are just over 40 holdings in the index, including Mercedes manufacturer DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DAI), high-end retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), and casino/resort operator Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN). Companies from the U.S., France, and Switzerland dominate the index.

With the global economy teetering on the edge, luxury firms may not be punished as much as other areas if the economy stumbles. Yet if the markets continue their buoyant rise, these companies will benefit handsomely. The Global Luxury Index ETF is a highly concentrated fund, which presents additional risk. But joining Robin Hood and his merry men to ease the nobles' burdens of the plunder from sales of luxury goods via this new ETF may be a modern-day romp in Sherwood Forest.

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