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New Coverage, Analysis Enhance AltaVista Research’s ETF Website
New analytical capabilities and expanded coverage help investors and financial advisors examine and compare exchange traded funds (ETFs) at the ETF Research Center from AltaVista Research.
June 22, 2011--ETF Research Center, the online portal for financial advisors and individual investors to access AltaVista’s analysis of exchange traded funds, announces significant enhancements to the site including new analytical tools and a major increase in coverage, to assist investors who increasingly favor ETFs over actively managed mutual funds.
New analytical tools include examination of recent trends in important valuation metrics such as price-to-earnings, price-to-sales and price-to-book value multiples, as well as additional constituent breakdown data. The analysis of valuation trends complements the existing “snapshot” valuation metrics—updated each trading day—facilitating comparisons and assisting investors in making more informed judgments.
Expanded coverage includes dozens of recently listed ETFs, as well as AltaVista’s first fund of funds, the ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (shown here). Beginning in July, the fund of funds will join the nine Select Sector SPDR funds in the monthly ETF Analyzer report, which is available for download free of charge. These additions bring total coverage to more than 660 funds in the U.S. and 47 in Australia.
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Source: AltaVista Research
Deutsche Bank Adds Five ETFs to its db-X Product Suite
June 22, 2011-Deutsche Bank today announced the rebranding of five Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to join its recently launched db-X suite of products, doubling the number of ETFs offered under its “db-X” umbrella. The five funds, previously known as the TDX Independence Funds, are now known as the db-X Target Date Funds.
The db-X Target Date Funds are a suite of ETFs that seek to track the Zacks Lifecycle indexes and are designed to provide investors with a single investment to diversify across domestic equities, international equities and fixed income, based on a fixed investment horizon. Each db-X Target Date Fund’s name will continue to correspond to a specified “target” year. The db-X Target Date Funds’ underlying indexes and trading symbols have not changed. Collectively, the db-X Target Date Funds have approximately $134 million in assets as of June 21, 2011.
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Source: Deutsche Bank
Economic Projections of Federal Reserve Board Members and Federal Reserve Bank Presidents, June 2011
June 22, 2011--The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached table and charts summarizing the economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank presidents for the June 21-22 meeting of the Committee.
The table will be incorporated into a summary of economic projections released with the minutes of the June 21-22 meeting. Summaries of economic projections are released on an approximately quarterly schedule.
view table
Source: US Federal Reserve
Federal Open Market Committee Statement
June 22, 2011--Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April indicates that the economic recovery is continuing at a moderate pace, though somewhat more slowly than the Committee had expected. Also, recent labor market indicators have been weaker than anticipated. The slower pace of the recovery reflects in part factors that are likely to be temporary, including the damping effect of higher food and energy prices on consumer purchasing power and spending as well as supply chain disruptions associated with the tragic events in Japan.
Household spending and business investment in equipment and software continue to expand. However, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector continues to be depressed. Inflation has picked up in recent months, mainly reflecting higher prices for some commodities and imported goods, as well as the recent supply chain disruptions. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The unemployment rate remains elevated; however, the Committee expects the pace of recovery to pick up over coming quarters and the unemployment rate to resume its gradual decline toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Inflation has moved up recently, but the Committee anticipates that inflation will subside to levels at or below those consistent with the Committee's dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations.
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Source: Federal Open Market Committee
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
June 22, 2011--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Tuesday, June 21, 2011:
Skana Capital Corp. (TSXVN:SKN) will trade under the new name MENA Hydrocarbons Inc.
The new ticker symbol will be "MNH" and the new CUSIP number will be 586316 10 1. The change is the result of a reverse takeover. There is no consolidation of capital.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Source: Standard & Poor's
SEC Adopts Rule Under Dodd-Frank Act Defining “Family Offices”
June 22, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today approved a new rule to define “family offices” that are to be excluded from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
The rulemaking stems from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
“Family offices” are entities established by wealthy families to manage their wealth and provide other services to family members, such as tax and estate planning services. Historically, family offices have not been required to register with the SEC under the Advisers Act because of an exemption provided to investment advisers with fewer than 15 clients.
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC Adopts Dodd-Frank Act Amendments to Investment Advisers Act
June 22, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules that require advisers to hedge funds and other private funds to register with the SEC, establish new exemptions from SEC registration and reporting requirements for certain advisers, and reallocate regulatory responsibility for advisers between the SEC and states.
The rules adopted by the Commission implement core provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act regarding investment advisers, including those that advise hedge funds.
“These rules will fill a key gap in the regulatory landscape,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. “In particular, our proposal will give the Commission, and the public, insight into hedge fund and other private fund managers who previously conducted their work under the radar and outside the vision of regulators.”
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Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck files with the SEC
June 22, 2011--Van Eck has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Market Vectors Nigeria ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
CME Group Announces The Launch Of Three New Short-Term Gold, Crude Oil And Natural Gas Options Contracts
June 21, 2011--CME Group, today announced the launch of short-term options contracts for Gold, Crude Oil and Natural Gas to begin trading July 16. Short-term crude oil and natural gas options contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of NYMEX. Short-term gold options contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of COMEX.
"Recent global macroeconomic events and volatility underscore the need for tools to enable market participants to manage their basis risk every day," said Harriet Hunnable, Managing Director, Metals Products, CME Group. "Our innovative new short-term gold options contracts will provide customers with much greater flexibility to manage the risk associated with government economic data, world events and other market-moving factors, while enabling them to benefit from the lower cost associated with short-dated options."
Similar to the E-micro Gold futures contract, which launched in Q4 of 2010, short-term gold options also represent a cost-effective means for professional investors to gain exposure to gold.
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Source: CME Group
Invesco adds to TSX-listed PowerShares ETF family
New intelligent fixed-income ETF joins the PowerShares lineup
June 21, 2011-Invesco today announces the launch of PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond (CAD Hedged) Index ETF, the first fixed-income ETF in Canada to use the Research Affiliates Fundamental Index® (RAFI®) methodology. This new ETF has now closed the initial offering of its units and will be available for trading on TSX when the market opens today.
This latest offering brings the total of TSX-listed PowerShares ETFs to six, and builds on Invesco's six-year-old partnership with Research Affiliates (RA), which developed this intelligent indexing methodology.
With a management fee of 0.65%, PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond (CAD Hedged) Index ETF (PFH) seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the RAFI® High Yield Bond CAD Hedged Index, which is comprised of U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds registered for sale in the United States and whose issuers are public companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges. This Index hedges all or substantially all of its direct U.S.-dollar exposure back to the Canadian dollar. PFH's income distribution frequency is monthly.
"This new addition to our family of fixed-income PowerShares ETFs provides Canadian investors with a truly intelligent ETF option," said Michael Cooke, Vice President, PowerShares Canada. "The RAFI Fundamental Index methodology goes beyond traditional capitalization-weighted indices, weighting securities according to fundamental economic factors. The result, we believe, is a more balanced, intelligent approach to security selection."
To learn more about PowerShares ETFs, please visit www.powershares.ca.
Source: Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC
