Americas ETP News
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Opening Statement, Open Meeting on the Fourteenth Series of Proposed Rulemakings under the Dodd-Frank Act
Commissioner Jill E. Sommers
Wednesday April 27, 2011--Good morning. Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you to all the teams for their hard work on the proposals we consider today. A number of these proposals are critical lynchpins to the new regulatory structure we are creating. I know the public, the industry, end users, and members of Congress have been anxiously awaiting some of these proposals.
Before moving to the specific proposals before us today, I would like to focus on the Dodd/Frank repeal of certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act that were added by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) to provide legal certainty for the over-the-counter (OTC) markets, namely Sections 2(d), 2(e), 2(g), 2(h), and 5d. These provisions will be rescinded on July 16th, less than three months from now, even though the new regulatory framework for trading and clearing swaps will most certainly not be operational by that date.
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Source: AME Info
Opening Statement, Public Meeting on Proposed Rules Under Dodd-Frank Act
Commissioner Michael V. Dunn
April 27, 2011--Thank you all for joining us today for this important meeting regarding the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Today, as we near the end of our meetings regarding proposed rules, we will finally consider our Product Definitions rule – a joint rule with the SEC – which in a perfect world would have been one of the first rules proposed, because meaningful input from those who will be under the new regulatory regime depends upon knowing precisely what constitutes a swap and what does not.
We also will discuss our Conforming Rules, whose purpose is in part to ensure that what is required for swaps is required for futures and vice versa. In a perfect world, conforming rules would be the last proposed and finalized because to do them correctly depends on having a view of all the other rules.
This is not a perfect world and the Commission is doing what it can, when it can, with the resources we have.
In considering the proposed rule for Capital Requirements for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants, I will be particularly interested in hearing staff’s thoughts and the public comments on how much this rule will cost not only the industry but the CFTC. I believe this rule is a necessity, but I am interested to hear if or how these proposed capital requirements will affect the cost of transacting swaps. At the very least, these proposed capital rules will increase the burden on current Commission staff and will require the hiring of additional staff.
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Source: SEC.gov
RiverPark files with the SEC
April 26, 2011--RiverPark Advisors has filed a third amended and restated application for exemptive relief with the SEC for actively-managed funds.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Commodity ETFs Could See More Scrutiny
April 26, 2011--Has the rapid onslaught of commodity ETFs gone too far? Accusations over speculation and manipulation continue to fly, with ETF/ETN issuers such as U.S. Commodity Funds and Barclays serving as the complicit dealers for big-bank manipulators.
Recent actions by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reveal that regulators are serious about cracking down on some commodities vehicles. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, the CFTC is moving to curb mutual funds that rely on non-U.S. subsidiaries to make speculative bets on commodities and currencies. By using foreign subsidiaries, these mutual funds evade the limits of CFTC regulation. (They are, however, within the regulatory range of the SEC.)
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Source: The Street
AdvisorShares Announces Partnership With Accuvest Global Advisors
Partnership Will Create a Solution That Utilizes a Global Country Rotation Strategy
April 26, 2011--AdvisorShares Investments, LLC, a sponsor of actively managed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), announced today a partnership with Accuvest Global Advisors ("AGA"), to develop an actively managed ETF which will utilize a proprietary global country rotation strategy. The proposed ETF would join AdvisorShares' growing stable of innovative actively managed ETFs and add a global investment strategist to the AdvisorShares family for Financial Advisors to gain insights from.
Noah Hamman, CEO and Founder of AdvisorShares said, "We feel investment advisors will be as excited as we are to be able to offer their clients access to AGA's extensive global equity investing experience. The strategy utilizes a unique top-down macro-economic scoring system as they evaluate and pick countries, not individual equities. AGA has a tremendous track record of success and the upcoming ETF will provide investors with another solution to gain global equity exposure."
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Source: AdvisorShares Investments, LLC,
CME Group Announces New Volume Records in Silver Futures and Silver Options Open Interest
April 26, 2011-- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it had reached record volume yesterday in its COMEX Silver futures, as well as in open interest of its Silver options.
Yesterday, trading of Silver futures reached 319,204 contracts, surpassing the prior record of 201,216 contracts set on November 9, 2010. At the same time, open interest in Silver options reached a new record of 240,344 contracts. The prior record of 235,992 contracts was set on April 21, 2011.
Silver futures have demonstrated rapid growth during the month of April. Month-to-date average daily volume (ADV) for Silver futures has increased 218 percent from this point last year. During 2011 year-to-date, ADV for Silver futures have grown 110 percent versus the same period last year.
These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of COMEX.
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Source: CME Group
Dow Jones Indexes To Develop, Co-Brand Index Family With LSP Partners
Indexes to Utilize LSP Partners’ Proprietary Strategy
April 26, 2011-Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and LSP Partners LLC, a risk management research consulting firm, today announced an agreement to develop and co-brand an index family utilizing a proprietary strategy created by LSP Partners founder and CEO, Ralph Vince.
The Leverage Space Portfolio (LSP) strategy seeks to maximize the probability of equity portfolio profitability by employing a risk-control process focused on capital preservation and drawdown management. Compared to a traditional buy-and-hold portfolio, an LSP-based portfolio aims for more consistent returns with lower risk.
The indexes, scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2011, can serve as the basis of both passive and active investment funds, including exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, and institutional accounts, around the world.
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Source: Dow Jones
Van Eck Launches Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF
April 26, 2011--New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global announced today that it has launched Market Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF (NYSE Arca: FLTR), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Market Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate Index (MVFLTR), an index consisting of a portfolio of corporate U.S. dollar-denominated investment grade floating rate notes.
FLTR represents a first-of-its-kind floating rate investment product because of its investment grade focus. Approximately $63 Billion* are invested in floating rate mutual funds, most of which are invested in low quality, non-investment grade bank loans (aka senior loans or leveraged loans). FLTR is an innovative departure from typical floating rate funds because its underlying index tracks a portfolio of high quality, floating rate notes rather than tracking bank loans.
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Source: Van Eck
ETFs in Retirement Plans, The Next Frontier for TD Ameritrade
April 25, 2011--Exchange-traded funds are likely to grab a “significant” share of the 401(k) market in coming years, according to Skip Schweiss, president of TD Ameritrade Trust Co.
And TD Ameritrade plans to be part of the equation. The company has rolled out an investment program that allows plan sponsors and independent registered investment advisors to offer ETFs to 401(k) participants alongside mutual funds, collective investment funds, employer stocks and other options.
“We’re seeing a growing interest and demand in putting ETFs in retirement plans,” says Schweiss. “It fact, we’re starting to see some breakthroughs in the ability to provide them.”
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Source: Financial Planning
Morgan Stanley-US ETF Weekly Update
April 25, 2011--US ETF Weekly Update
Weekly Flows: $2.2 Billion Net Inflows
ETF Assets Stand at $1.1 Trillion, up 10% YTD
ETFs Traded $244 Billion Last Week
Launches: 13 New ETFs
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
ETF flows rebounded last week, generating net inflows of $2.2 billion
US Large-Cap ETFs led the way, exhibiting net inflows of $911 million
ETF assets stand at $1.1 trillion, up 10% YTD; combination of market appreciation and net new money
13-week flows were mostly positive among asset classes
$26.3 billion net inflows into ETFs over past 13 weeks (International-Developed & FI took in $16.8 billion)
US Large-Cap ETFs were the biggest drag on flows over the past 13 weeks ($6.3 billion net outflows)
We estimate ETFs have generated net inflows 11 out of 16 weeks YTD
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) generated net inflows of $569 million last week, the most of any ETF
Despite recent net inflows, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) had the largest net outflows over the past 13 weeks ($8.4 billion net outflows)
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ) has exhibited the greatest net inflows over the past 13 weeks ($2.8 billion net inflows)
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Source: Morgan Stanley
