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BNY Mellon Composite Depositary Receipt Index Tops 1,000 DR Programs
Greater than 300% growth in unsponsored ADR programs driving expanded investment options;
BNY Mellon DR Indices now primary benchmark for 19 ETF funds
August 15, 2011--BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, announced that the BNY Mellon Composite Depositary Receipt IndexSM grew to 1,025 constituent depositary receipts (DRs) for issuers from 49 countries as of June 30, 2011 – an increase in coverage of more than 20% since the index was created in October 2009.
The rise in DRs in the BNY Mellon Composite DR Index is due mainly to the rapid growth of ‘unsponsored’ ADRs. Unsponsored ADRs are issued by one or more depositary banks in response to market demand but without a formal agreement with the underlying issuer, while sponsored ADRs are issued by a single depositary appointed by the issuer. Unsponsored ADRs generally trade over-the-counter (OTC), while sponsored ADRs trade either on the OTC market or on major U.S. stock exchanges.
The BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index (a subset of the Composite DR Index) illustrates the point. On its launch in February 2009, it was comprised of 60 unsponsored and 590 sponsored ADRs. By June 2011, the number of unsponsored programs had quadrupled to 249, while sponsored ADRs rose 20% to 699.
“The growing acceptance and use of unsponsored ADRs allows us to satisfy investors’ diversification demands, and that’s reflected in the greater breadth of country and regional coverage provided by BNY Mellon’s family of DR indices,” said Michael Cole-Fontayn, CEO of BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business.
"Index licenses are up more than 30% year-to-date, and our DR indices are now the primary benchmark for 19 ETF products," said Michael Finck, BNY Mellon's DR head of global service delivery. "As the number of DRs in our indices increase, we're able to offer investors convenient, cost-effective access to even more international investment choices."
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Source: BNY Mellon
Direxion files with the SEC
August 15, 2011--Direxion has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the
Direxion Large Cap Insider Sentiment Shares
Direxion All Cap Insider Sentiment Shares
Direxion Large Cap Tactical Advantage Shares
Direxion S&P 1500® Volatility Response Shares
Direxion S&P 600® Volatility Response Shares
Direxion S&P 500® Volatility Response Shares
Direxion S&P Latin America 40 Volatility Response Shares
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Natixis Asset Management files with the SEC
August 15, 2011--Natixis Asset Management has filed an application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
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Source: SEC.gov
Natixis Asset Management files with the SEC
August 15, 2011--Natixis Asset Management has filed an application for exemptive relief with the SEC for actively-managed ETFs.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck files with the SEC
August 15, 2011--Van Eck has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Market Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Moore Capital Management Invests in Two Emerging-Market ETFs
August 15, 2011--Moore Capital Management LLC, the hedge fund run by Louis Moore Bacon, bought stakes in two emerging-market exchange-traded funds in the second quarter
The New York-based fund bought 6 million shares of Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF valued at $292 million as of June 30, and 3.2 million shares of iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index valued at $152 million, according to a regulatory filing today.
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Source: Bloomberg
Van Eck Global and Merrill Lynch Enter Agreement Regarding Oil Services HOLDRS Trust (OIH) and Five Other HOLDRS
Investors in Six HOLDRS to be Asked to Exchange into Market Vectors ETFs
August 12, 2011--Van Eck Global and Merrill Lynch & Co., a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation ("Merrill Lynch"), have entered into an agreement relating to Merrill Lynch-sponsored HOLding Depository ReceiptS ("HOLDRS"). Van Eck's Market Vectors ETF Trust plans to offer investors in six HOLDRS -- Oil Services (OIH), Semiconductor (SMH), Pharmaceutical (PPH), Biotech (BBH), Retail (RTH), and Regional Bank (RKH) -- the opportunity to exchange their shares in these funds for shares of new Market
Vectors exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These HOLDRS had approximately $3.65 billion in aggregate assets and a combined 30-day average daily trading volume of approximately 20.07 million shares as of the close of trading on August 11, 2011. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Van Eck's proposed exchange offer is expected to allow participating investors the opportunity for uninterrupted exposure to target industries. The new ETFs are expected to retain the corresponding HOLDRS' ticker symbols. Van Eck expects the exchange offer to be launched early in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the transaction to be consummated later in the fourth quarter of 2011. The exchange offer documents, which are expected to be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") in September 2011, will contain information about the transaction including its mechanics and potential tax implications.
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Source: Van Eck Global
Office of Financial Research Issues Statement on Progress to Date and Next Steps Forward in the Global Initiative to Establish a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)
August 12, 2011--Today, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) issued the following statement on the progress made to date and next steps forward in the global initiative to establish a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).
In November 2010, the OFR stated that if a universal LEI was established by July 15, 2011, it planned to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require the LEI to be used for data reported to the OFR.
Although significant progress has been made to date in developing an LEI—including discussions of principles by global regulators; recommendations by a global coalition of financial services firms and trade associations; a technical specification for the identifier by an international standards body; and proposals by parties to manage the LEI—additional work needs to be done to build international consensus on key issues before the OFR issues a rule.
“The OFR will continue to work with policymakers, regulators, and the private sector to achieve a mutually agreeable, effective, and timely global LEI solution,” said Richard Berner, Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury. “An LEI would serve as a cornerstone in fulfilling the G-20 mandate to improve market integrity and regulators’ ability to mitigate risks posed to the financial system.”
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is hosting a workshop on September 28 and 29 to discuss how to coordinate work on LEI and move the initiative forward. Additionally, because of the work that has been done to date, the OFR believes that sufficient progress can be made to allow for an initial phase of implementation in 2012, consistent with the needs of regulatory authorities in a variety of jurisdictions. The OFR intends to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking consistent with that timeline. In the United States, the OFR’s objective remains to coordinate with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which are issuing rules for reporting swap transactions to trade repositories, and for all three agencies to require the same system for identifying parties in reporting.
An LEI is a unique number that would identify a legally distinct entity that engages in financial market activities. Currently, there are many ways to identify entities, but there is no universal identification scheme for legal entities across markets and jurisdictions.
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
August 12, 2011--The current reports for the week of August 9, 2011 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Microsoft, Wal-Mart Stores Added to Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index
Qualcomm, MasterCard Class A, Norfolk Southern Also Placed in Index
Following Regular Semi-Annual Review By Dow Jones Indexes
Index Gauges Performance of Stocks Lagging Broader Market,
But Outrank Peers on Fundamentals, Other Qualitative Criteria
August 12, 2011--Two of the largest companies in the world, Microsoft Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., were added to the Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index, it was announced today.
The index is designed to systematically measure the performance of stocks that lag behind the broader market in terms of recent performance, but outrank their peers based on fundamentals and other qualitative criteria.
Including Microsoft (the world's sixth-largest company, measured by free-float market capitalization) and Wal-Mart Stores (37th-largest), a total of 64 companies were added to -- and 62 deleted from -- the index as part of a regular semi-annual review by Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider. Following the review, the Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index now has 125 components, up from 123; all changes are effective after the close of trading on August 19, 2011.
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Source: Dow Jones Indexes
