FlexShares Introduces Suite of Dividend-Focused Equity Funds
December 19, 2012--FlexShares(R) Exchange Traded Funds, sponsored and managed by Northern Trust Corp., today introduced dividend-focused equity index funds to help investors achieve their income needs while still participating in capital growth through the equity market.
The exchange-traded funds – the Quality Dividend Index Fund, Quality Dividend Defensive Index Fund and the Quality Dividend Dynamic Index Fund – seek to deliver a portfolio of stocks that emphasize long-term capital growth and income. They invest in quality companies that provide dividend income while controlling for market risk.
Invesco PowerShares Announces Changes to ETF Family
December 19, 2012-- Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with more than $74 billion in franchise assets, announced changes to its product line.
As part of its ongoing commitment to putting investors' interests first, Invesco PowerShares announced that it plans to close 13 ETFs. The affected funds represent less than 1% of Invesco PowerShares' total assets.
"We regularly review our ETF portfolios, evaluating numerous factors such as investment results, length of time in the market and investor interest," said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. "Based on this assessment, we believe the time is right to make these moves and refocus our resources to better meet investors' needs. As one of the leading innovators in the ETF industry, Invesco PowerShares remains fully committed to maintaining and developing a comprehensive and compelling product line of ETFs to help investors meet their financial goals."
Getco wins bidding war for Knight Capital
December 19, 2012--Getco, the high-frequency trading firm, was set to acquire Knight Capital, according to people familiar with the talks, in a deal that could see the creation of one of the largest US electronic trading and market-making companies on Wall Street.
A deal was reached after Getco raised the cash portion of its proposed offer, these people said. Getco’s initial offer was worth roughly $1.7bn, inclusive of Knight’s debt.
Knight Capital Group And GETCO Holding Company Agree To Merge
Cash and Stock Transaction Values Knight at Approximately $1.4 Billion;
Provides Knight Shareholders with the Opportunity to Receive Cash and Participate in the Future Success of the Combined Company
Transaction Creates Well-Capitalized, Global Financial Services Firm Providing Market Making and Agency Brokerage for Clients Worldwide
Combined Firm Will Be Publicly Traded
December 19, 2012--Knight Capital Group, Inc. (NYSE: KCG, "Knight") and GETCO Holding Company, LLC ("GETCO") today announced they have entered into an agreement for a strategic business combination whereby GETCO and Knight will be combined under a new publicly traded holding company.
The combined firm will create a true industry leader as an independent market-maker and agency broker across geographies, market structures and asset classes. The resulting company will benefit from Knight's deep customer franchise and GETCO's leading edge technology platform, resulting in a company extremely well positioned to serve customers across multiple products globally.
Vanguard sets record with customer inflows of $130 billion
December 19, 2012--Vanguard Group said customers had invested $130.4 billion in its mutual and exchange-traded funds during the first 11 months of 2012, beating the fund industry's previous annual inflow record.
The flows into Vanguard funds, mostly into equities, exceeded the previous annual record of $129.6 billion set by JPMorgan Chase & Co in 2008, according to fund research firm Strategic Insight. Vanguard's previous high was $104 billion, achieved in 2007, Vanguard said in a statement on Wednesday.
Invesco PowerShares Provides Estimated Long-Term Capital Gains Information for 2012
December 18, 2012-- Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that it expects to deliver zero long-term capital gains distributions across 120 of 123 equity and fixed-income ETFs for 2012.
"At Invesco PowerShares we are proud of our product line’s tax efficient track record," said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. "For the tenth consecutive year, we are pleased that the vast majority of PowerShares ETFs did not deliver capital gains distributions. This accomplishment highlights one of the many advantages ETFs can potentially provide shareholders seeking to maximize real returns."
2-yr slog ends as SEC approves first U.S. physical copper-backed ETF
J.P. Morgan's physical copper ETF is the first to win SEC approval, but could soon be joined by BlackRock's proposed iShares Copper Trust.
December 18, 2012--The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the first physical copper exchange-traded fund, over the concerns of copper fabricators who contend it will hurt their industry by putting too much copper in investors' hands.
The proposed JPM XF Physical Copper Trust will be listed on NYSE Arca and will initially be backed by 61,800 tonnes of copper (30% of the copper available for immediate delivery globally), compared to current copper ETFs, which are backed by futures.
Exchange Traded Spreads files with the SEC
December 18, 2012--Exchange Traded Spreads has filed a amended and restated application for exemptive relief with the SEC. The Trust intends to operate as a multi-series investment company and to initially create and operate four (4) actively-managed investment series (the "Initial Funds").
view filing
Franklin Advisers files with the SEC
December 18, 2012--Franklin Advisers has filed a second amended and restated application with the SEC for actively-managed ETFs.
IndexIQ's IQ Global Resources ETF (GRES) Receives 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating
First global resources hedged ETF provides exposure to a broad range of commodities-based businesses, from livestock and grains to precious metals and water
December 21, 2012--The IndexIQ Global Resources ETF (GRES), the first global resources hedged Exchange-Traded Fund, has received a
5-Star Overall Morningstar RatingTM and a 5-Star Three-Year Morningstar RatingTM as of November 30, 2012 out of 22 funds in the Natural Resources category, it was announced today.
Agencies' Efforts to Analyze and Coordinate Their Rules
December 18, 2012--What GAO Found
Federal agencies conducted the regulatory analyses required by various federal statutes for all 54 regulations issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) that GAO reviewed.
As part of their analyses, the agencies generally considered, but typically did not quantify or monetize, the benefits and costs of these rules. Most of the federal financial regulators, as independent regulatory agencies, are not subject to executive orders that require comprehensive benefit-cost analysis in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Although most financial regulators are not required to follow OMB's guidance, they told GAO that they attempt to follow it in principle or spirit. GAO's review of selected rules found that regulators did not consistently follow key elements of the OMB guidance in their regulatory analyses. For example, while some regulators identified the benefits and costs of their chosen regulatory approach in proposed rules, they did not evaluate their chosen approach compared to the benefits and costs of alternative approaches. GAO previously recommended that regulators more fully incorporate the OMB guidance into their rulemaking policies, and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission have done so. By not more closely following OMB's guidance, other financial regulators continue to miss an opportunity to improve their analyses.
view the GOA report-Agencies' Efforts to Analyze and Coordinate Their Rules-Dodd-Frank
NYSE exec says exchanges moving closer to "kill switch"
December 18, 2012--U.S. regulators and exchanges are getting closer to a framework for a "kill switch" that could be used to shut down trading before software glitches get out of control and wreak havoc on markets, a top exchange official said on Tuesday.
"We have all engaged in a much more detailed assessment of how a kill switch could work," Joe Mecane, an executive vice president at the New York Stock Exchange (NYX.N), said in testimony before a U.S. Senate Banking panel on Tuesday.
CFTC Issues Interim Final Rules Regarding Business Conduct and Documentation Requirements for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants
December 18, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved interim final rules for swap dealers and major swap participants who would otherwise be required to comply with certain business conduct and documentation requirements found in provisions of subpart F, subpart H, and subpart I to part 23 of the Commission's Regulations.
The Commission voted [5-0] via seriatim to approve the interim final rules, which will become effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.
CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues No-Action Letter on the Obligation of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants to Provide the Pre-Trade Mid-Market Mark for Certain Credit Default Swaps and Interest Rate Swaps
December 18, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today issued a no-action letter that provides swap dealers and major swap participants with relief from the requirement to disclose the pre-trade mid-market mark to counterparties in certain credit default swaps and
interest rate swaps that are identified in the no-action letter (Covered Derivative Transactions).
The disclosure requirements prescribed in Regulation 23.431 state, among other things, that a swap dealer or major swap participant must disclose to certain counterparties the pre-trade mid-market mark of a swap.
PowerShares files with the SEC
December 18, 2012--PowerShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC. This filing relates solely to the following series of the Registrant:PowerShares S&P 500(R) Downside Hedged Portfolio.
view filing