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CFTC, SEC to Host September 15 Roundtable on Swap Execution Facilities and Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities
September 9, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a public roundtable on September 15 to discuss issues related to Swap Execution Facilities and Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities.
The roundtable will assist both agencies in the rulemaking process to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The roundtable on Swap Execution Facilities and Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities will be held in the Auditorium (Room L-002) at the SEC Headquarters located at 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC. The discussions will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public also may listen by telephone and should be prepared to provide their first name, last name, and affiliation.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
September 9, 2010-Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Thursday, September 9, 2010:
Waldron Energy Corporation (TSXVN:WDN) will be removed from the index.
The company will graduate to trade on TSX under the same ticker symbol.
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 & Poors
Russell endorses ETFs over LICs
September 9, 2010--Exchange traded funds (ETFs) may be a better option than listed investment companies (LICs) for investors looking to go it alone by using managed investment vehicles, according to Russell Investments.
Russell recently listed an ETF, which director of ETF product development Amanda Skelly asserted provided an alternative for those investors seeking higher dividends through LICs.
Skelly noted that LICs were still twice as popular as ETFs in terms of volume traded, despite the recent jump in ETF trading, and asserted that there were certain areas of concern around LICs that investors should research.
“Anyone investing in LICs or ETFs should think about the options carefully - for some ETFs could be more appropriate,” she said.
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Source: Money Management
Invesco PowerShares Secures Exclusive License to Four KBW Indexes
September 9, 2010 – Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW) for exclusive licensing to four indexes covering the financial services, REIT, and property & casualty insurance market sectors. Invesco PowerShares anticipates listing the first of the new ETFs based on these indexes before the end of 2010.
The index names and anticipated PowerShares ETF portfolio names are listed below.
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"We are very excited to partner with KBW, a recognized leader in financial services company research, to provide investors unique ways to access the financial services sector," said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. "KBW is highly regarded for its expertise on the financial services sector, and we look forward to a long and successful global partnership."
"There are many uncorrelated business risks within the financial services sector and these products allow market participants to better make and hedge investments directly into specific sub-sectors," said John Howard, co-head of research at KBW. "Invesco PowerShares has a strong reputation for providing investors with innovative and affordable ETFs and we are very pleased it has selected KBW as an index provider."
KBW operates in the U.S., Europe and Asia through its broker dealer subsidiaries, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Limited and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Asia Limited. It also offers asset management services through KBW Asset Management, Inc. Founded in 1962, the firm is widely recognized as a leading authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking and specialty finance sectors. The firm has established industry-leading positions in the areas of research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions as well as sales and trading for financial services companies.
Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® through its family of more than 120 domestic and international exchange-traded funds, which seek to outperform traditional benchmark indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets over $44 billion as of June 30, 2010, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at www.invescopowershares.com.
Source: Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC
Vanguard Introduces Series of Low-Cost Index Funds and ETFs Based on S&P Benchmarks
Vanguard 500 Index Fund, industry’s first index mutual fund for individual investors, offers new ETF with expense ratio of 0.06%
September 9, 2010--Vanguard, a pioneer of low-cost index funds, today introduced eight new index mutual funds and nine new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on S&P domestic stock benchmarks.
Among the new offerings are ETF shares of Vanguard’s flagship Vanguard 500 Index Fund, the industry’s first index mutual fund for individual investors and currently the industry’s second-largest index mutual fund, with $86.8 billion in net assets (source: Lipper, Inc.). Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ticker: VOO) features an expense ratio of 0.06%, which is the lowest expense ratio for an ETF based on the S&P 500 Index.
In addition to Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Vanguard’s ETF family will expand to 55 offerings with the introduction of eight new equity funds and ETFs targeting the growth and value segments of the S&P 500 Index and the growth, value, and blend segments of the S&P MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 Indexes.
“The new Vanguard index funds and ETFs offer our trademark low costs and tax efficiency, and aim for the utmost tracking precision. They will appeal to financial advisors and institutional investors seeking to build portfolios based on S&P benchmarks. In particular, the new ETFs will offer additional choices to investors and help Vanguard continue to build momentum in the ETF marketplace,” said Vanguard Chairman and CEO Bill McNabb.
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Source: Vanguard
CME Group Announces Launch of E-micro Gold Contracts
September 9, 2010--CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of E-micro gold futures exclusively on CME Globex to begin trading on October 3 for trade date October 4. These contracts will be listed by and subject to the rules and regulations of COMEX.
The E-micro gold contract is one-tenth the size of the benchmark 100-oz full-size gold futures contract and carries a smaller initial margin requirement. It also has lower trading fees than the standard gold contract, but offers the same full investor safeguards of trading in CME Group's regulated environment.
"Customers have expressed specific interest in trading a smaller gold contract because it provides a more economical approach for trading gold futures and it gives them more flexibility to execute a variety of trading strategies over varying time periods," said Joe Raia, CME Group Managing Director of Energy Products and Services. "More active market participants, such as Commodity Trading Advisors, can use these as a more efficient way to adjust positions or create more precise delta adjustments to trading strategies."
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Source: CME Group
Vanguard offers 500 Index Fund ETF Shares
September 9, 2010--Vanguard is pleased to announce that it is now offering ETF Shares of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, the industry's first index mutual fund for individual investors and currently the industry's second-largest index fund, with $86.8 billion in net assets.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ticker: VOO) features an expense ratio of 0.06%, the lowest expense ratio in the industry among ETFs based on the S&P 500 Index or any other large-capitalization domestic benchmark (source: Morningstar, Inc.).* Commission-free trades, either online or by phone, are available to Vanguard clients for the new ETF.**
Unlike other ETFs, which are stand-alone funds, Vanguard's are structured as a separate share class of traditional index funds. This takes full advantage of Vanguard's indexing expertise, which dates from the launch of the 500 Index Fund in 1976. Our novel approach also allows us to use tax-management strategies available to conventional funds.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is managed by the Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group, which oversees nearly $557 billion in assets, including $94.6 billion in ETF assets.
Vanguard's $23 billion in ETF net cash flow through August led the industry this year. Cash flow into Vanguard's equity ETFs has been particularly strong, accounting for 74% of Vanguard's total ETF cash flow and 51% of the industry's equity ETF cash flow (source: Bloomberg). Vanguard's ETF assets under management have jumped 60% since August 2009, rising from $71 billion to $113 billion.
* As of September 9, 2010.
** Clients must have a Vanguard brokerage account. Trading limits, fund expenses, and minimum investments may apply. See the Vanguard Brokerage Services® commission and fee schedule for full details.
Source: Vanguard
CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) To Launch First Options Contract - Weekly Options On VIX Futures Expand CBOE Volatility Franchise - Multiple Volatility Index Products Available On One Platform
September 9, 2010--The CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) today announced that on September 28, it plans to introduce trading in its first options on a futures contract - Weekly options on VIX futures (ticker symbol - VOW), subject to regulatory approval.
All key pieces of the VIX product suite will now be available on CBOE's electronic technology platform, CBOEdirect - cash-settled CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) options, VIX futures, options on volatility-related exchange traded notes, and, later this month, Weekly options on VIX futures.
"The addition of Weekly options on VIX futures, which incorporates a version of the popular 'Weeklys' expirations on security options, brings an added dimension to CBOE's suite of volatility products. It also underscores our ability to seamlessly support multiple products and their unique specifications on a single platform," CBOE President and COO Edward Joyce, said. "We've taken the best features of Weeklys expirations, further refined them for use with options on VIX futures, and created another way for customers to manage volatility."
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Source: CBOE
ETFS Marketing LLC Expands Sales Team and Appoints Patrick Carter
September 8, 2010--As part of aggressive US business expansion plans and continued growth in the US physically backed precious metal suite of products (SGOL, SIVR, PPLT & PALL), ETFS Marketing LLC, has appointed Patrick Carter to the US Sales team.
Patrick will focus on expanding the firm's distribution capabilities in California and West Coast markets. His primary responsibilities will be focused on institutional clients and national accounts. Patrick Carter has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry. His broad background includes a variety of roles spanning both the institutional and wealth management markets. Most recently, Patrick was with Dimensional Fund Advisors where he led efforts to grow assets under management in the qualified retirement plan area by developing business sources in the consultant and Registered Investment Advisors (RIA's) channels. Patrick also spent 13 years with Merrill Lynch promoting various products through internal Merrill Lynch broker channels as well as directly to institutional investors.
For more information please contact the US marketing agent, visit our website: www.etfsecurities.com
Source: ETFS Marketing
Advisors Asset Management (AAM) Announces Collaboration with WisdomTree to Add Firm's Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to Product Platform
September 8, 2010--Advisors Asset Management, Inc. (AAM), a leading investment solutions provider, today announced a collaboration with WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (WSDT.PK) to serve as the external marketing agent for the WisdomTree ETFs in the Independent Broker-Dealer channel.
WisdomTree, a leading ETF sponsor and index developer, utilizes a unique, rules-based methodology to weight companies chosen for their ETFs by a measure of fundamental value, instead of just stock price alone. WisdomTree ETFs track indexes designed to deliver the return of stock markets weighted by income streams – either the cash dividends companies pay or the earnings they have produced. They believe this approach to investing corrects a flaw in capitalization weighting that plagues most of today's ETFs – and offers investors the potential for higher returns, with less risk.
“We’re very pleased to partner with WisdomTree, a highly respected leader in the ETF investment space,” said Andrew S. Williams, President of AAM. “WisdomTree continues to be a major innovative force in the ETF industry and we believe they will offer immense value to our platform and our clients.”
The addition of WisdomTree to AAM’s circle of strategic partners is the latest alliance forged with large, reputable asset managers enabling AAM to present independent advisors with a broader array of solutions that will best align with their clients’ investment objectives.
“We are pleased to team up with AAM to enhance our efforts in the Independent Broker-Dealer channel,” said Bruce Lavine, WisdomTree’s President & COO. “We believe AAM’s national presence and strong background will provide WisdomTree valuable additional reach into an important category of investment professionals.”
Source: Advisors Asset Management (AAM)/Wisdom Tree