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CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Provides Registration No-Action Relief for Certain Swaps Intermediaries
October 12, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today announced the issuance of a no-action letter to provide relief from registration for various swaps intermediaries until December 31, 2012.
Without the delay, certain entities would have to be registered immediately.
Specifically, the letter provides a registration delay for any person who, solely by virtue of its swaps activity, would have been required to register immediately as an introducing broker, commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor, associated person (AP), floor broker, or floor trader. The DSIO letter also provides delay for any person who would be required to register solely because of their involvement with the transition of certain contracts on ICE and NYMEX to clearing as commodity futures and options.
view the CFTC Letter No. 12-15-Staff No-Action Positions: Registration Relief for Certain Persons
Barclays Debuts ETF Based on PE Ratios
October 12, 2012--Barclays has long been a leader in the ETN market as the company has several dozen products under its iPath and ETN+ brand names.
However, product development has been on a hiatus as of late, as the firm didn’t launch a product for roughly a one year span despite the continued growth of the broader ETF industry.
Fortunately, this appears to be coming to an end as the firm recently revealed its latest addition to its lineup, this time with a focus on American equities. The new note, the Barclays ETN+ Shiller CAPE ETN (CAPE), looks to give investors a new way to play the markets using an interesting methodology from one of the brightest minds in the investing world, Robert Shiller.
CME, Wall Street Win Delays From CFTC Swap Dealer Rules
October 12, 2012--CME Group Inc. (CME), energy traders and Wall Street banks won delays and exemptions from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as regulations intended to improve oversight of the swaps market took effect.
Among a flurry of short-term extensions, the CFTC announced that foreign entities including the overseas branches of U.S.- based banks would not have to begin tallying swaps right away and perhaps not until the end of the year.
Barclays Launches the Barclays ETN+ Shiller CAPE(TM) ETN An ETN linked to a US equity sector rotation index developed in collaboration with Professor Robert Shiller
October 11, 2012--Barclays Bank PLC announced today the listing of the Barclays ETN+ Shiller CAPE(TM) Exchange Traded Note (ETN) on the NYSE Arca stock exchange under the ticker symbol CAPE.
The ETN seeks to provide a notional long exposure to four relatively undervalued US equity sectors that also exhibit relatively strong price momentum.
The index underlying the ETN uses the frequently cited cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE(TM)) ratio as a metric for the valuation of US equity sectors.
CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues Interpretative Guidance to Equity REITs and Certain Securitization Funds
October 11, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight today issued interpretative guidance letters to equity real estate investment trusts and asset-backed securities funds.
The guidance states that equity real estate investment trusts and securitization funds that meet certain criteria are not included within the definition of “commodity pool” and their operators are not “commodity pool operators” under the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s regulations.
Yorkville files with the SEC
October 11, 2012--Yorkville ETF Advisors has filed a forth amended and restated application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
AdvisorShares files with the SEC
October 11, 2012--AdvisorShares has filed a first amended and restated application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
PIMCO Total Return ETF Clears $3 Billion in Assets
October 11, 2012--PIMCO Total Return ETFNASDAQ:BOND, which continues to set records as the fastest-growing actively managed exchange-traded fund in history, hit yet another milestone this past week in crossing the $3 billion mark in assets.
Seven months in, the new ETF not only is the largest active ETF around, but it also has meaningfully outperformed the PIMCO Total ReturnNASDAQ:PTTRX open-end mutual fund, which is the largest U.S mutual fund. The ETF continues to surpass most people's expectations. BOND also is well ahead of the second-largest actively managed ETF, sibling PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy ETF NASDAQ:MINT, which has a little more than $2 billion in assets. After that in the actively managed ETF world is WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt NASDAQ:ELD, which has about $1.36 billion.
FlexShares Enters Actively Managed ETF Space
Launches Ready Access Variable Income Fund
October 11, 2012--FlexShares(R) Exchange Traded Funds, sponsored and managed by Northern Trust, today launched its first actively managed ETF, a cash management fund designed for liquidity-focused investors seeking higher yields (NYS: RAVI).
The RAVI ETF has a variable net asset value (NAV) and can invest beyond the limits of traditional money market funds.
RAVI, reflecting decades of Northern Trust's cash investing experience, provides investors with liquidity via its shorter term holdings and the daily trading feature of an ETF. The fund invests in a global portfolio of investment grade fixed-income instruments, such as bonds, debt securities and other debt issued by governments, corporations and banks.
Morgan Stanley-John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund (BTO) to Change Investment Policy and Name
October 11, 2012--On 10/3/12, John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund
(BTO) announced plans to broaden its investment policy to include
all financial services companies, including foreign companies. In
conjunction, the fund will change its name to John Hancock,Financial Opportunities Fund; however, the ticker will remain the same.
These changes are expected to begin being implemented on or around 12/14/12.
Additionally, on 1/18/13, BTO will hold a Special Meeting of Shareholders to vote to amend the fund’s fundamental investment restriction to permit BTO to leverage its portfolio through a credit
facility. Last, we discuss BTO’s distribution policy change and
distribution increase announced on 8/13/12.
The Derivatives Revolution Begins (Tomorrow)
October 11, 2012--For friends and foes of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, tomorrow is a big day. Regulations covering the $648 trillion swaps market finally start to take effect.
In historical terms, that’s as important as when the 1930s securities laws went into force.
Banks and other trading outfits must begin tallying their trades to determine whether they will be deemed “swaps dealers” subject to the strict capital and collateral standards Dodd- Frank allows. The rules will bring a new era of transparency to a business that thrives off opacity.
Goldman Ends Exhaustive Muppet Hunt
October 11, 2012--Following the publication of Greg Smith's resignation letter in the New York Times on March 14, 2012, Goldman Sachs launched an an investigation known internally as the "Muppet hunt" to determine if Goldman employees did in fact refer to clients as "Muppets."
The Muppet claim was perhaps one of the more memorable of Smith’s famous allegations in his letter, which tore apart the culture of his former employer.
Seven months later, Goldman has concluded the internal investigation, and has turned up very little evidence to substantiate Smith’s claims. After interviewing dozens of employees and searching through millions of e-mails, only 4,000 Muppet references were found, and 99% of those referred to the movie, reports the Financial Times.
Deutsche Bank-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America-ETF+ Monthly Directory-September 2012 ETPs
October 10, 2012--This document includes all US listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded vehicles (ETVs), plus a special section covering exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The directory is organized by asset class and asset-class-related sub sections.
Within each sub section it has also been sorted. For Equity and Fixed Income ETPs it is sorted by country (or sub region for regional products) in alphabetical order and by AUM in descending order, and for the other ETP asset classes it is sorted by sub sector in alphabetical order and by AUM in descending order. A number of key information points per product has been included in order to enable the reader to get an overview in their respective area of interest. Among the key numeric information we include avg. daily turnover, assets under management, and cash flows (all in $US).
SSGA-US ETF Snapshot: September 2012
October 10, 2012--SNAPSHOT OVERVIEW
1,263 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)-with assets totaling $1.3TN-were managed by 38 ETF managers as of September 30, 2012
Month over month, ETF assets increased $63.0BN, up 5.1%.
Significant gains in the Size - Large Cap, International - Emerging, and Commodity categories fueled a 5.1% increase in assets in September.
STATE STREET HIGHLIGHTS, SEPTEMBER 2012
Election 2012: How to Respond
◦With polarized political parties and a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the direction of economic policy, investors should consider the investment opportunities that exist with a victory by Republican candidate Mitt Romney or a reelection of President Obama. Further, it may be worth understanding the long-term challenges that face the US and what investments may be best suited for strength should an indecisive political environment remain in place.
◦With the benefits of efficiency, transparency and the flexibility that ETFs offer, financial advisors and institutions can make shifts to position portfolios for these outcomes now.
For more information, including product fact sheets, related whitepapers or to read more visit www.spdrs.com.
CFTC Staff Responds to Questions on Start of Swap Data Reporting
October 10, 2012--Today, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff is responding to questions from market participants and other interested parties on the timing of when counterparties will be required to report swap pricing and transaction data as required under part 45 of the Commission's regulations.1
The CFTC is issuing a Q & A document to help market participants better understand the rule, the reporting that is required and who has the obligation to report.
The Q & A document on the Start of Swap Data Reporting is available on the Commission website at
http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/DoddFrankAct/Rulemakings/DF_17_Recordkeeping/index.htm.
