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First Trust files with SEC
December 10, 2009--First Trust files post effective amendment with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Treasury Announces Open Government Plan
December 9, 2009--As part of a commitment to increase transparency in government and maintain accountability of taxpayer dollars, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced an open government effort that will increase public access to data and information. Under this initiative, Treasury has compiled and will now make available new data on tax returns, more user friendly information on transactions under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and a new report on bank trading and derivatives.
This government-wide effort is the next step in creating the conditions for a permanent culture of openness," said Dan Tangherlini, Assistant Secretary for Management. "As we continue to build a new foundation for our economy through the implementation of financial and economic recovery policies, we remain committed to creating a new foundation of transparency and openness in government practice."
Treasury's open government effort includes making publicly available the following sets of information and reports:
New Data on Tax Returns. For the first time, Treasury has released Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Statistics of Migration Data. This data set shows migration patterns of tax filers moving across country and state lines. This free information will be of use to local officials, real estate developers, business planners, and researchers.
New Format for TARP Transaction Report. Treasury's Office of Financial Stability releases a TARP Transaction Report for every new TARP transaction including investments made and funds repaid. In an effort to make the reports more user-friendly, they will now be available in XML format for easy sorting of data.
Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives. This report, made available by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, provides information on the federal government's supervision of banks as well as the investment activities of financial institutions.
Yesterday, the White House issued an Open Government Directive requiring federal agencies to take immediate, specific steps to open their operations to the public. Called for by President Obama on his first full day in office, the Open Government Directive puts accountability and accessibility at the center of how the federal government operates and sets an unprecedented standard for government agencies, insisting that they achieve key milestones in transparency, collaboration, and participation.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) added to family of China sector ETFs
December 9, 2009-ew York-based asset manager Global X Management Company today launched the Global X China Technology ETF (NYSE Arca: CHIB), offering targeted access to the China Technology sector.
The Global X China Technology ETF seeks to replicate the S-BOX China Technology Index, which is designed to reflect the performance of the technology sector in China.
As of November 30, 2009, internet companies represent 51% of the index, telecommunications 28%, and hardware & software firms 20%. The largest index components were internet companies Ctrip.com, SINA Corp, and Baidu, and software firm Longtop Financial Technologies.
China is the world’s largest cell phone and internet market, with over 600 million cell phone customers and over 300 million internet users. Internet users grew by 13.5% over the last year, and there is room for continued rapid growth, as penetration of internet users is still low at 25% of total population vs. 70% in the U.S. “China is driving its efficient manufacturing and rapidly expanding consumer base into higher value, technology-based products and services,” said Bruno del Ama, CEO of Global X Management.
The fund is the latest launch in a comprehensive family of China sector ETFs offered by Global X Funds, including the China Industrials ETF (ticker: CHII) and China Consumer ETF (ticker: CHIQ), trading on the NYSE Arca, as well as the upcoming China Energy ETF (ticker: CHIE), China Financials ETF (ticker: CHIX) and China Materials ETF (ticker: CHIM), which are not yet available for purchase. All funds have a 0.65% expense ratio.
Source: Global X
First Christian ETFs Launched to Appeal to Religious-Minded Investors
December 9, 2009--FaithShares Trust today launched the first three exchange-traded funds (ETFs) addressing the investment needs of Christian investors. The funds are managed by FaithShares Advisors, LLC.
The securities held in each of the funds, FaithShares Catholic Values Fund (FCV), FaithShares Methodist Values Fund (FMV) and FaithShares Christian Values Fund (FOC), are tailored to each denomination’s teachings and recommendations for investing.
FaithShares Advisors, LLC worked with the FTSE Group, the leading global index provider, and KLD Research & Analytics, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and indexes, to create a series of custom indexes on which the funds are based.
“We created these funds to meet the needs of investors who want to participate in the potential of the stock market, yet be good stewards of their money,” said Thompson S. Phillips Jr., President of FaithShares. “As an ETF, each of our funds will include 100 stocks of large, well-known companies but specifically exclude those considered to be ’objectionable industries’ by a specific denomination. Our funds are the first Christian ETFs in the market.”
The FaithShares Funds allow individuals and groups to invest in accordance with the tenets of their faith in one security, while still getting exposure to the broad market. The portfolios will be screened to exclude companies that benefit from gambling, alcohol, tobacco, pornography, weaponry and other activities that are included in each denomination’s published criteria.
“We did a great deal of research on the covenants of the various denominations in designing these funds,” said Garrett Stevens, CEO and portfolio manager. “The Christian Values Fund is the most conservative and we feel it answers the needs of non-denominational church members and other denominations not specifically represented by our other ETFs.”
On December 15, FaithShares anticipates launching two additional funds specifically aligned with the Baptist (FaithShares Baptist Values Fund - FXB) and Lutheran (FaithShares Lutheran Values Fund - FKL) faiths.
Annually, FaithShares Advisors, the management company of FaithShares, will give a minimum of ten percent of its net income to a ministry associated with the respective denominations.
The funds will be rebalanced annually and offer complete transparency about their holdings. ETFs offer an inexpensive way to invest in the market.
From 2000 to 2006, assets in other faith-based investments have grown seven-fold underscoring the public’s interest in investing according to their beliefs.
Investors can purchase the funds through their investment advisor or discount broker.
Source: FaithShares Advisors
IShares Makes Debut On Chilean Stock Exchange With 25 ETFs
December 9, 2009-BlackRock Inc.'s (BLK) iShares made their debut on Chile's Santiago Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with 25 exchange-traded funds.
The funds--which are open-ended funds that, like index mutual funds, represent portfolios of securities that track specific indexes--will give investors easier access to invest in international markets and stocks. The ETFs, as the funds are also known, can be bought and sold like stocks on an exchange.
Source: Dow Jones Indexes
iShares Launches Two New Fixed Income Funds to Provide Longer Duration Exposure
iShares Fixed Income Family Now Provides Full Curve Exposure
December 9, 2009-- iShares, a global leader in Exchange Traded Funds, announced today that the iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond Fund (NYSE:CLY - News) and the iShares 10+ Year Government/Credit Bond Fund (NYSE:GLJ - News) began trading today. iShares, which provides the largest number of fixed income ETFs listed in the U.S. and has seen significant growth in their products this year, introduced these funds to complete the curve exposure of the product line and to meet current client demand in longer term bonds.
The two new iShares Bond Funds complement the existing iShares fixed income product line and provide investors with targeted exposure to the long end of the yield curve in the government and credit markets. These new funds will provide institutional investors and individual investors and their financial advisors additional flexibility in tailoring their fixed income portfolios in the current market environment," said Matt Tucker, Director of US Fixed Income Strategy, BlackRock.
The iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond Fund is designed to track to BofA Merrill Lynch 10+ Year US Corporate & Yankees Index. The Underlying Index is a broad, market value weighted, total rate of return index designed to measure the performance of the long-term, investment-grade U.S. corporate and Yankee bond markets. Component securities include debt issued publicly by U.S. corporations and U.S. dollar-denominated, publicly-issued debt of non-U.S. corporations, foreign government debt and supranational debt. The securities in the Underlying Index have $250 million or more of outstanding face value, and have at least ten years remaining to maturity or to the first call date in the case of callable perpetual securities. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on the last calendar day of each month.
As of June 30, 2009, the Underlying Index consisted of 1,093 USD-denominated issues of supranational, national and corporate entities whose principal place of business is in the following countries: Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The iShares 10+ Year Government/Credit Bond Fund is designed to track the BofA Merrill Lynch 10+ Year US Corporate & Government Index. The Underlying Index is a broad, market value weighted, total rate of return index designed to measure the performance of the long-term, investment-grade U.S. corporate and government bond markets. Component securities include publicly-issued U.S. Treasury debt, U.S. government agency debt, debt issued by U.S. and non-U.S. corporations, foreign government debt and supranational debt. The securities in the Underlying Index have $250 million or more of outstanding face value, $1 billion for U.S. Treasuries, and have at least ten years remaining to maturity or to the first call date in the case of callable perpetual securities. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on the last calendar day of each month.
As of June 30, 2009, the Underlying Index consisted of 1,266 USD-denominated issues of supranational, national and corporate entities whose principal place of business is in the following countries: Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Source; BlackRock, Inc.
Barclays Lists iPath® Exchange Traded Notes in Canada
Seven ETNs list on Toronto Stock Exchange Providing Investors with Access to Difficult-to-Reach Markets
December 9, 2009--Barclays Bank PLC announces the launch of its iPath Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) platform in Canada with the cross-listing of seven iPath® ETNs on Toronto Stock Exchange. The iPath ETNs are linked to equity volatility, currencies and the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite strategy.
The iPath ETNs are:
iPath® S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures™ ETN (ticker symbol – VXZ)
iPath® S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ ETN (ticker symbol – VXX)
iPath® Optimized Currency Carry ETN (ticker symbol – II)
iPath® JPY/USD Exchange Rate ETN (ticker symbol – JYN)
iPath® GBP/USD Exchange Rate ETN (ticker symbol – GBX)
iPath® EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN (ticker symbol – ERO)
iPath® CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite IndexSM ETN (ticker symbol – BWV)
“We are pleased to expand our iPath ETN platform in Canada. iPath ETNs have been tremendously successful in the US attracting over US$5 billion in market capitalization with over US$80 billion in volume traded since inception,” said Philippe El-Asmar, Managing Director, Head of Investor Solutions at Barclays Capital. “Barclays has experienced tremendous growth in the Americas in recent years and this cross-listing underlines our commitment to the Canadian markets.”
iPath ETNs were first launched by Barclays Capital in the US in 2006 and are designed to provide investors with convenient access to the returns of market benchmarks, less investor fees. The ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities that trade in the secondary market during trading hours at market prices, and may typically be redeemed in at least 50,000 units on a daily basis directly to Barclays.
Today marks the global expansion of the iPath ETN platform. In addition to this cross-listing in Canada, Barclays Capital launched, the iPath® S&P 500 VIX Short-Term FuturesTM ETN and the iPath® S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term FuturesTM ETN on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (XETRA). There are currently 30 iPath ETNs listed on the NYSE Arca stock exchange in the United States and the firm plans to cross-list or directly list additional iPath ETNs in other countries in the future.
Source: Barclays Bank PLC
Old Mutual Trust Lists Global Shares FTSE Emerging Markets Fund on NYSE Arca
Decemeber 9, 2009--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, began trading on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, the Global Shares FTSE Emerging Markets Fund (Ticker: GSR). The ETF is advised by Old Mutual Global Index Trackers (Pty) Limited, whose parent company is Old Mutual plc.
The fundseeks investment results that correspond (before fees and expenses) generally to the performance of the equity index called the FTSE Emerging Markets Index (the “Underlying Index”). The Underlying Index is a market capitalization index, adjusted based on the free-float of potential index constituents, and designed to measure the performance of large-, medium-and small-capitalization companies located in emerging market countries throughout the world.
Source: NYSE Arca
J..P. Morgan to sponsor all Vanguard ETFs listed in Mexico
December 9, 2009--J.P. Morgan is serving as sponsor for all Vanguard exchange-traded funds that are listed on the international segment of the Mexican Stock Exchange, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores.
J.P. Morgan, through its depositary receipts group, began offering select Vanguard ETFs on the BMV in December 2008, and will now sponsor all 39 Vanguard ETFs in Mexico.
Dennis Duffy, a principal in Vanguard's international division, says: “Investors’ appetite for Vanguard’s broad line-up of ETFs continues to grow, and we believe that our relationship with J.P Morgan will meet the needs of this expanding marketplace.”
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Source: ETF Express
T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) Set To Foray Into Active ETF Market
December 9, 2009--Investment Manager T. Rowe Price Group Incorporation (NASDAQ: TROW)(FREE stock trend analysis) is preparing to launch a variety of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm has asked for a regulatory approval to start the funds and intends to offer ETFs in a range of areas, including bonds, domestic stocks and international stocks.
Although T. Rowe has a long history in active management of its open-end funds, it has a relatively light presence among index offerings.
Source: Stock News Online