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SEC Chairman Schapiro Announces Open Process for Regulatory Reform Rulemaking
July 27, 2010--Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary L. Schapiro today announced that the agency is making it easier for the public to provide comments as the agency sets out to make rules required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Under a new process, the public will be able to comment before the agency even proposes its regulatory reform rules and amendments. Additionally, the SEC will provide greater public disclosure of meetings with SEC staff.
The new process goes well beyond what is legally required and will provide expanded opportunity for public comment and greater transparency and accountability. The SEC also expects to hold public hearings on selected topics.
"It has not even been a week since the President signed the regulatory reform legislation into law, but at the SEC we are already working to fully implement the dozens of studies and rulemakings required of our agency," said Chairman Schapiro. "We recognize that the process of establishing regulations works best when all stakeholders are engaged and contribute their combined talents and experiences. We look forward to preliminary public comments in these areas."
The SEC is generally required by law to establish a public comment period at the time it proposes rules or rule amendments. However, because of the significant rulemaking envisioned under the new regulatory reform law, the public will have an opportunity to voice its views before rules or amendments are even proposed as well as to see what others are saying to the agency about these issues.
view Public Comment Page for SEC Initiatives Under Dodd-Frank Act
Source: SEC.gov
SEC Publishes Public Request for Comment to Inform Study of Obligations of Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
July 27, 2010-- The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a request for public comment to inform its study of the obligations and standards of care of broker-dealers and investment advisers providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail investors.
The study is required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which President Obama signed into law on July 21, 2010.
As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC is requesting public input, comments, and data on issues related to the effectiveness of existing standards of care for brokers-dealers and investment advisers, and whether there are gaps, shortcomings, or overlaps in the current legal or regulatory standards.
"Broker-dealers and investment advisers provide critical financial services to millions of American investors," said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. "A system that fairly and effectively regulates these market participants is essential to protecting investors. We look forward to receiving comments from the public on these important issues."
The public comment period will remain open for 30 days, following publication of the comment request in the Federal Register.
view SEC release requesting comment
Submit comments
Source: SEC.gov
Knight Capital Group Announces Acquisition of Astor Asset Management
Acquisition totaling approximately $20 million will add asset management capabilities to Knight's offering
July 27, 2010--Knight Capital Group, Inc. (NYSE: KCG) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Astor Asset Management, LLC, a money management firm specializing in macro-economic strategy and ETF portfolio construction, for approximately $20 million in cash and stock, based on assets under management at the close.
"Astor Asset Management has undergone rapid growth by providing active management and diversification across sectors and asset classes at a relatively low expense ratio using ETFs," said Thomas M. Joyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knight Capital Group. "Astor assets under management in the separately managed accounts and new mutual fund have increased substantially in the past few years. I believe we can help Astor get to the next level while creating a foundation for asset management that contributes stable, recurring revenues to Knight."
Founded by Managing Partner Robert N. Stein in 2001, Astor Asset Management seeks to identify fundamental economic shifts in order to provide retail and institutional investors with capital appreciation while managing risk in diverse market conditions. The firm utilizes proprietary macro-economic models to construct portfolios of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which are offered through advisors within separately-managed accounts (SMAs) and the Astor Long/Short ETF Mutual Fund. Based in Chicago, Ill., Astor is a registered investment advisor with the SEC. The firm has 13 employees and approximately $560 million in assets under management.
"I'm excited by the growth potential for Astor as a part of Knight, considering the firm's longstanding relationships with the leading wirehouses and broker-dealers," said Stein. "Backed by the resources and infrastructure of Knight, I believe we'll be able to provide an even higher level of client service while adding to the product offering. My colleagues at Astor and I look forward to continued success at Knight."
The terms of the agreement include a four-year employment contract for Mr. Stein. The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and Astor Asset Management advisory client approval. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010 and accretive to Knight's earnings per share in 2011. Upon the close of the acquisition, Astor Asset Management, LLC will operate as a wholly-owned operating subsidiary of Knight Capital Group.
The advisors to Knight on the transaction are Kirkland & Ellis LLP and K&L Gates LLP. The advisors to Astor Asset Management are Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP and Thompson Hine LLP.
Source: Knight
Brazil Financials ETF to Trade in New York, Global X Says
July 27, 2010--The first Brazilian exchange-traded fund tracking financial shares will begin trading in New York on July 29, said the chief executive officer of Global X Management Company LLC, the asset manager overseeing the fund.
The ETF will track the Solactive Brazil Financial Index of 25 companies, including Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco do Brasil SA.
read more
Source: Bloomberg Business Week
Global X Funds Post Record Trading Volumes
July 27, 2010--Global X Funds Lithium ETF traded more than 450,000 shares on its opening day Friday, July 23, 2010, making it one of the most successful ETF launches this year. Other Global X ETFs posted significant volumes on the same day, including Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) which hit a record volume of over a million shares.
Global X Funds is one of the fastest growing ETF companies, currently managing $336.9 million in assets. Over the last two weeks alone, there have been 88 creation units across the China Consumer (CHIQ), China Materials ETF (CHIM), China Financials ETF (CHIX), Colombia ETF (GXG), Silver Miners ETF (SIL), Brazil Mid Cap ETF (BRAZ), and the newly issued Lithium ETF (LIT). Creation units are created by large institutional investors called Authorized Participants. In general creation units consist of 50,000 shares. This represents an aggregate inflow of $76.8 million into the fund family over the last two weeks.
"We are committed to bringing innovative and relevant products to market, facilitating access to the most attractive segments across the global markets" said Bruno del Ama, CEO of Global X Funds.
Source: Global X
July 2010 “Islamic Market’s Measure” Preliminary Report - Monthly Report On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes
Based on the close of trading on July 26, the global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, gained 7.45% month-to-date, closing at 1972.62. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a gain of 7.87%, closing at 159.24.
The Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in the Asia/Pacific region, increased 5.87%, closing at 1812.99. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a gain of 4.84%, closing at 126.67.
Measuring Europe, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Europe Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of the 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in Europe, closed at 1905.04, a gain of 8.13%, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index gained 11.58%, closing at 241.90.
Measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shari’ah compliant U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index increased, closing at 2017.36. It represents a gain of 7.47%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 7.69%, closing at 10525.43.
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Source: Mondovisione
Claymore files with the SEC
July 26, 2010--Claymore has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for
Guggenheim Enhanced Core Bond ETF
Ticker Symbol: GIY
Guggenheim Enhanced Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Ticker Symbol: GSY
read more
Source: SEC.gov
Emerging Markets Week in Review -7/19/2010 - 7/23/2010
July 26, 2010--The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Sector Titans Composite Index climbed 3.65% as all sectors were positive for the week.
Materials led the market by increasing 6.22% in the sector's best week since April 3rd, followed by Energy which was up 3.76%. Consumer Goods and Utilities were the worst performers, increasing by 1.60% and 1.97% respectively.
read more
Source: Emerging Global Advisors
WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI) Passes $1 Billion In Assets Under Management
July 26, 2010--WisdomTree an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) sponsor and asset manager, announced today that the WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI) surpassed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM), as of July 21, 2010.
EPI, the Industry’s first India ETF which launched on February 22, 2008, is the largest and most actively traded exchange-traded product (ETP) providing access to local Indian securities.
“We are pleased with the success of EPI and remain committed to opening up asset classes and investment strategies which were previously difficult for regular investors to access,” said Bruce Lavine, WisdomTree President & COO.
Jeremy Schwartz, WisdomTree’s Director of Research commented, “India has distinguished itself as the best-performing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) country in 2010. One reason for this separation is that India’s economy is less export driven than China, Russia and Brazil, and the attractive demographics of its billion plus population has proved more resilient and less dependant on global growth.”
Source: Wisdom Tree
Exchange-Traded Funds: US ETF Weekly Update-Morgan Stanley
June 26, 2010--Highlights
Weekly Flows: $3.8 Billion Net Inflows
ETFsTraded $352 Billion Last Week
Launches: 3 New ETFs
ETFs had net cash inflows of $3.8 blnlast; 3rdweek in a row of net inflows
Weekly flows driven by US-equity ETFs; 9 out of top 10 ETFs to post net inflows were based off US indexes
Despite positive week for ETF industry flows, 2 largest ETFs posted net outflows (SPY & GLD)
Fixed Income ETFscontinue to experience strong net inflows
$26.0 bln of net inflows into ETFs over past 13 wks; Fixed Income accounts for 45% of net new money
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
IWM has the largest net inflows for US ETFs at $922 million last week
Over 13-week period GLD generated largest net inflows of any ETF, at $6.3 bln
VWO & EEM continue to lead emerging market flows, at $4.8 blnand $3.3 blnrespectively, over 13 weeks
request report
Source: Morgan Stanley
