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ETF Research Center Reporting Monitor: 4Q11 Week One
January 23, 2012--At the outset of earnings season, it looks as if S&P earnings will increase about 5% to $211 billion, or $23.38 per share. The largest contributors to profits growth are likely to be the Energy (XLE) and Tech (XLK) sectors while the Financial sector (XLF) was a drag...
Sales are forecast to have increased about 4% YoY, with the Financial sector looking like a significant drag. Margins are also under pressure, with eight out of nine sectors likely to see a sequential decline in margins...page 2.
Surprises have been decidedly negative among Financial firms that have already reported results, and even the Tech sector has fallen short of expectations. However the Materials (XLB) and Industrials (XLI) sectors have beaten expectations so far...
visit www.etfresearchcenter.com for more info.
Source: AltaVista Research
Morgan Stanley-ETF Weekly Update
January 23, 2012--US ETF Weekly Update
Weekly Flows: $10.0 Billion Net Inflows
Only 10% of ETFs Posted Net Outflows Last Week
ETF Assets Stand at $1.1 Trillion, up 6.7% YTD
2 ETF Launches Last Week
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
ETFs posted net inflows for the fifth consecutive week ($33.4 bln in net inflows over the period)
ETFs generated net inflows of $10.0 bln last week, bringing the total net inflows this year to $21.9 billion
US Large Cap ETFs exhibited net inflows of $3.8 bln last week, the most of any asset class
ETF assets stand at $1.1 tln, up 6.7% YTD
13-week flows were mostly positive among asset classes; combined $58.2 bln net inflows
Over the past 13 weeks, US Dividend Income ETFs have generated net inflows that equate to 18% of their market cap
Fixed Income ETFs have consistently generated weekly net inflows (23 consecutive weeks of net inflows)
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) posted net inflows of $3.2 bln last week, the most of any ETF
iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM) posted the second highest net inflows of $943 mln last week after it had exhibited the second largest net outflows in the prior week
22% of ETFs exhibited net cash inflows last week compared to just 10% that had net cash outflows
US Equity ETFs accounted for 6 of the top 10 spots of ETFs with the largest net cash outflows last week
US-Listed ETFs: Short Interest Data Unchanged: Based on data as of 12/30/11
SPY exhibited the largest decline in USD short interest since last updated
$17.2 billion in reduced short interest
Lowest level of shares short for SPY since 2/15/11
XRT’s shares short divided by shares outstanding in excess of 400%
Retail continues to be one of the most heavily shorted areas of the ETF market
Based on multiple borrowings and the ability to continuously create new shares, short interest as a % of market cap can exceed 100%
US-Listed ETFs: Most Successful Recent Launches by Assets
Data estimated as of 1/20/12 based on daily change in share counts and daily NAVs.
$7.6 billion in total market cap of ETFs less than 1-year old
Over the past 13 weeks, newly launched US Dividend Income ETFs generated most net inflows at $807 mln
14 new listings in 2012; 225 new ETF listings and 26 liquidations in 2011
Over past year, 3 of the top 10 most successful ETF launches focus on dividend paying equities
8 different ETF sponsors and 2 asset classes represented in top 10 most successful launches
iShares High Dividend Equity Fund (HDV) and PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV) each have market caps in excess of $1 bln
Top 10 account for 57% of market cap of ETFs launched over the past year
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Source: Morgan Stanley
Russell files with the SEC
January 23, 2012--Russell has filed a Amended Application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Morningstar Issues Comprehensive Research Reports on ETF Managed Portfolio Strategies and ETF Tax Efficiency
January 23, 2012--Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research today issued two research reports—the "ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape Report" that explores current trends, asset growth, and the industry outlook for ETF managed portfolios, and another, "ETFs Under the Microscope: Tax Efficiency Survey" that tests the claims of the tax efficiency of ETFs.
ETF managed portfolios are investment strategies that typically have more than half of their portfolio assets invested in exchange-traded funds. They are primarily available as separate accounts, and they represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the investment industry. In September 2011, Morningstar announced plans to research and rank ETF managed portfolios. The company is now tracking nearly 370 strategies from 95 firms through its separate account database with collective assets under advisement of approximately $27 billion. As part of this effort, Morningstar has developed a proprietary portfolio attribute classification system based on its analysis of the ETF managed portfolio's investment strategy as well as a historical review of disclosed holdings. Morningstar's new system evaluates four main attributes: Universe (which looks at the starting scope of a strategy's investment process on a global basis), Asset Breadth, Portfolio Implementation, and Primary ETF Exposure Type. The information is now available in Morningstar Direct(SM), the company's web-based global investment analysis platform for institutional investors.
view the ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape Report
view the ETFs Under the Microscope: Tax Efficiency Survey
Source: Morningstar
Statement of Dissent to the CFTC-SEC Report on International Swap Regulation Pursuant to Section 719(c) of the Dodd-Frank Act (the "Report")
January 23, 2012--The staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must be commended on their outreach with other international regulatory bodies to harmonize the new rules and regulations over the swaps markets. I am confident that this level of coordination and cooperation has never been achieved previously.
I respectfully dissent in the issuance of this Report. First, it fails to properly capture the entirety of the regulatory landscape. Second, it should acknowledge in greater detail the challenges in harmonizing our rules. This Report provides a general, but incomplete, picture of the international rulemaking process. While it is accurate to say that there is international coordination on general policy considerations, significant questions remain regarding the extraterritorial application of the specific rulemakings currently underway at the Commissions. Further, significant questions remain regarding the pace of rulemakings among the various regulatory bodies going forward.
As of the date of this Report, neither the CFTC nor the SEC has disclosed the extraterritorial application of our proposed or final rules. Under both the proposed and final rules it appears that U.S. rulemakings would apply to entities and activities in foreign jurisdictions. For example, the application of the proposed rule regarding the CFTC’s entity definitions would make U.S. financial and non-financial entities subject to mandatory clearing and capital requirements, even if they operate outside the U.S., while foreign competitors may not be so constrained. Until the Commissions specifically define the extraterritorial application of these rules we exacerbate the significant regulatory uncertainty for global market participants. We also delay progress towards mutual recognition or mutual accommodation, which are essential to avoiding duplicate or contradictory regulatory obligations for such market participants.
Finally, the CFTC has been made aware of a significant problem by our colleagues in both Europe and Asia of a statutory requirement to indemnify the swap data repositories and the Commission as mandated under Section 728(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act. Many jurisdictions are not able to comply with this requirement and have demanded that change be made or they will not cooperate with the U.S. swaps data collection efforts. The staff has correctly pointed out in this Report that a statutory change may be necessary to ensure that the U.S. is able to fully cooperate with international regulators to share critical information regarding global risk exposure and trade data.
In closing, I commend the staff for their hard work to deliver unprecedented international coordination on broad policy questions. However, our effort to harmonize our rules and to enable mutual recognition or accommodation remains incomplete in both words and actions.
Source: CFTC.gov
Banks’ dual role in ETFs in jeopardy
January 22, 2012--Banks running exchange traded funds in Europe face potential challenges to the profitability and even viability of their businesses if regulators adopt proposals for limiting conflicts of interest.
Deborah Fuhr, an independent ETF strategist, said banks could be barred from acting as providers of synthetic ETFs and as derivative counterparties to those ETFs, if recommendations made by the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group were adopted by regulators.
read more
Source: FT.com
Fund Companies To Expand ETF Presence In ’12
January 20, 2012--The stage is set for more exchange-traded fund launches from traditional fund companies this year. Last month, Fidelity investments moved to significantly expand its role in the ETF market by filing an application for exemptive relief with the Securities and Exchange Commission to roll out a suite of ETFs.
The filing envisions the launch of index-based domestic and international stock and bond funds including 130/30 and other long/short funds.
read more
Source: FA-Mag.com
Richard Jaycobs Named as Successor to Neal Wolkoff as CEO of ELX
January 20, 2012--ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX), a leading electronic futures exchange, announced today that veteran futures industry executive Richard Jaycobs will succeed Neal Wolkoff as Chief Executive Officer of ELX.
Mr. Jaycobs, a 25-year veteran of the futures and derivatives industry, has served as President of the Cantor Exchange, a CFTC-regulated exchange committed to providing the market with innovative products in entertainment, weather, and news events. Earlier, he served as CEO of the Chicago-based Clearing Corporation (formerly the Board of Trade Clearing Corporation), CEO of onExchange, and Managing Director at the New York Cotton Exchange.
ELX launched in July 2009 to establish a faster, more efficient, competitive alternative for global market participants trading future contracts. ELX’s founding firms include leading financial institutions, dealers, trading firms and a major electronic and voice broker and technology provider: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BGC Partners, Barclays Capital, Breakwater/Peak6, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, RBS, J.P. Morgan, and Getco.
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Source: ELX Futures
Fee Rate Advisory #5 for Fiscal Year 2012
January 20, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that on February 21, 2012 the fees rates applicable to most securities transactions will decrease from $19.20 per million dollars to $18.00 per million dollars. The assessment on security futures transactions will remain unchanged at $0.0042 for each round turn transaction.
The Commission determined these new rates in accordance with Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). Accordingly, the Commission consulted with both the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget regarding the annual adjustment. These adjustments do not affect the amount of funding available to the Commission.
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Source: SEC.gov
Wolkoff Announces Plans to Depart ELX Effective April 30
January 20, 2012--Neal L. Wolkoff, Chief Executive Officer of ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX), today notified the ELX board of his resignation, effective April 30.
ELX, a leading electronic futures exchange offering market competition in U.S. Treasury and Eurodollar futures contracts, launched on July 10, 2009 to establish a faster, more efficient competitive alternative for global market participants trading futures..
Wolkoff, who has been CEO of ELX since launch, previously served as chairman and CEO of the American Stock Exchange and was the Chief Operating Officer in a 20-year career at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Wolkoff said, “ELX presented an exciting opportunity for me to guide strategy, tactics, and operations of a financial institution from before its launch and I am very proud of the inroads we have been able to achieve in providing a competitive market. At this point, I am ready for new challenges and opportunities.”
Source: ELX Futures
