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BM&FBOVESPA sets new derivatives trading records
Number of contracts traded via CME Group Globex order routing reached 218,537 contracts, with 44,378 trades.
October 28, 2009--The Brazilian Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange - BM&FBOVESPA set a new derivatives trading record via Direct Market Access (DMA) on Tuesday, October 27, with 80,925 trades carried out through the GTS, the Exchange's derivatives segment electronic trading platform. The previous record of 72,782 trades was set on October 20. DMA modality traded volumes includes both ends of the transaction (buy and sell).
Also on October 28, the number of contracts traded via the CME Group Globex – GTS order routing system set a new record of 218,537 contracts traded, surpassing the previous record of 205,637 contracts traded on October 2. On this same date, the number of trades reached 44,378, hitting another record. The previous mark of 33,595 trades was registered on October 2.
Source: BM&FBOVESPA
Futures rivalry set to intensify
October 28, 2009-A dispute between two new US futures exchanges that want to break open the CME Group’s near-monopoly on US Treasury futures will intensify on Thursday, when a company backed by some of Wall Street’s biggest names will urge Washington regulators to reject a proposal by NYSE Euronext for a new clearing venture.
NYSE Euronext announced this month that it had struck a deal with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the US post-trade services group, to create a new clearing house that would clear both cash Treasuries and Treasury futures. By offering customers portfolio margining across both products, the companies expect that the new venture will attract traders looking to make more efficient use of their capital.
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Source: FT.com
More brokers look to ETFs to replace hedge funds
October 28, 2009--As wealthy investors stream out of hedge funds this year, Wall Street is trying to lure them back with a much simpler product: exchange-traded funds.
Most of the new programs, like one introduced by Barclays Wealth last week, use active managers who allocate clients' money into various passive index-based ETFs. By relying on ETFs, which can be easily bought and sold at a moment's notice, participants may avoid problems experienced by investors in hedge funds that barred them from withdrawing money last year.
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Source: Reuters
IndexIQ Introduces and Two New ETFs Designed to Provide a Hedge Against Inflation
October 27, 2009--IndexIQ, a leading developer of index-based alternative investment solutions, has introduced the IQ CPI Inflation Hedged ETF (NYSE Arca: CPI) and IQ ARB Global Resources ETF (NYSE Arca: GRES), two new Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that seek to provide investors with protection against inflation, it was announced today.
“To date, investors have been limited in the tools they have available in their efforts to protect their assets against inflation,” said Adam Patti, chief executive officer at IndexIQ. “With many forecasters believing that we are about to enter an extended period of greater inflationary pressures, we believe the time is right for a new approach to protecting wealth by seeking a real return at or above the rate of inflation. These two new funds offer a sophisticated approach to hedging the impact of a broad-based rise in price levels as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).”
The IQ CPI Inflation Hedged ETF (NYSE Arca: CPI), the first US-listed real return ETF, seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the IQ CPI Inflation Hedged Index. The index seeks to give investors a hedge against changes in the U.S. inflation rate by providing a “real return,” or a return above the rate of inflation as measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index.
The IQ ARB Global Resources ETF (NYSE Arca: GRES), the first global resources hedged ETF, seeks to solve the problems associated with the significant overweight in the energy sector inherent in other broad-based commodity products. GRES also provides a hedge against inflation and a real return through exposure to a diversified portfolio of commodity-related equities.
IndexIQ utilizes a proprietary rules-based methodology to construct the underlying CPI and GRES indexes. The IQ CPI Inflation Hedged Index is comprised primarily of liquid securities that represent asset classes affected by changes in inflation, such as equities, fixed income, commodities, currencies, and real estate, providing the opportunity to build a portfolio that more dynamically reflects the impact of inflation.
The IQ ARB Global Resources Index uses momentum and valuation factors to identify global companies that operate in eight commodity-specific market segments and whose equity securities trade in developed markets, including the U.S. The segments include livestock; precious metals; grains, food and fiber; energy; industrial metals; timber; water; and coal. It also includes short exposure to global equities as a partial equity market hedge.
Current tools insufficient
IndexIQ believes that the tools currently available to investors are generally insufficient to provide an effective hedge against the impact of inflation on a portfolio. For example, investors may allocate to Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) to offset the impact of inflation. However, TIPS historically have exhibited certain limitations in providing an effective inflation hedge, including higher correlation to bonds than inflation, and higher levels of volatility than CPI.1 Moreover, TIPS have existed only since 1997, a period of benign inflation, and therefore their ability to hedge more significant inflation is, at best, unproven.
IndexIQ is the sponsor of a number of index-based alternative investment products designed to “democratize” the alternative investment landscape, including the first US-listed hedge fund replication Exchange-Traded Fund, the IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: QAI); the first Macro and Emerging Markets hedge fund replication ETF, the IQ Hedge Macro Tracker ETF (NYSE Arca: MCRO); and the first open-end, no-load hedge fund replication mutual fund, the IQ ALPHA Hedge Strategy Fund (IQHIX – Institutional Share Class, and IQHOX – Investor Share Class). IndexIQ products are designed to be liquid, transparent, low cost, tax efficient, and accessible to a broad range of investors.*
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Source: IndexIQ
Two New Jefferies | TR/J CRB Equity Index Funds Listed on NYSE Arca
October 28, 2009-October 28, 2009 –- NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, began trading two Jefferies | TR/J CRB Equity Index Funds on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. The ETFs are sponsored by ALPS Advisors, Inc.
Name and Ticker Symbol of the Two Jefferies CRB Index Funds:
Jefferies | TR/J CRB Global Agriculture Equity Index Fund – Ticker Symbol “CRBA”
Jefferies | TR/J CRB Global Industrial Metals Equity Index Fund – Ticker Symbol “CRBI”
Jefferies | TR/J CRB Global Agriculture Equity Index Fund
The fund seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB In-The-Ground Global Agriculture Equity Index, which is a modified capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted, rules-based index designed to track the overall performance of a global universe of listed companies engaged in the production and distribution of agricultural commodities and agricultural commodity-related products and services in the following sectors: producers of seeds, traits (seed characteristics attained through genetic modification), chemicals and fertilizers, farm machinery, equipment and irrigation, agricultural products, and livestock and aquaculture.
Jefferies | TR/J CRB Global Industrial Metals Equity Index Fund
The fund seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB In-The-Ground Global Industrial Metals Equity Index, which is a modified capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted, rules-based index designed to track the overall performance of a global universe of listed companies engaged in the production and distribution of base and/or industrial metals and related products and services in the following sectors: aluminum, steel, uranium, and diversified metals and mining.
ALPS Advisors, Inc. is the investment adviser for the new ETF s, and Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC is the investment sub-adviser. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the ETF s.
For more information about these ETF s, please visit www.jamfunds.com.
Source: NYSE Euronext
Special Master Feinberg Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
October 28, 2009--Mr. Chairman:
I thank you and the Committee for the opportunity to testify today. The subject of executive compensation continues to be a top priority of the American people and the international business community, so I welcome your invitation and look forward to participating in this hearing.
As you know, in June of this year, I was asked to serve as Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation by the Secretary of the Treasury. In that capacity, I have a number of responsibilities under the relevant statutory[1] and regulatory[2] authority. These responsibilities include interpreting the regulations, and evaluating and making determinations regarding compensation payments to, and compensation structures for, certain employees of TARP recipients receiving exceptional financial assistance.
In these capacities, I have spent the past five months carefully considering the terms and conditions of the 2009 executive compensation for senior executives at those seven corporations that received exceptional financial assistance from the federal government: AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Chrysler, Chrysler Financial, General Motors and GMAC. These executives include five "senior executive officers" and the twenty "most highly compensated employees." My mandatory jurisdiction under the regulations is limited to the senior executives at these seven companies and only these seven companies. Although I do have interpretive authority under the Standards, and advisory authority under the law to make recommendations and nonbinding determinations as to officials of other companies who received TARP financial assistance, I have no legal authority to make final determinations pertaining to executive compensation for any companies other than these seven.
Mr. Chairman, I refer you and the Members of the Committee to the Report of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation: 2009 Executive Compensation Determinations for the TARP Exceptional Assistance Recipients, dated October 22, 2009, a copy of which is included with my prepared testimony. This Report includes my compensation determinations concerning senior executives at each of the seven companies referenced above, and provides a comprehensive explanation and analysis of the reasoning which underlies such determinations. I welcome any inquiries you may have concerning my Report.
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Source: SEC,gov
NASDAQ OMX and Claremont Investment Partners Launch Fundamentally Weighted Index
Benchmark Spotlights Industry Leaders Index Ten Year Track Record
October 28, 2009--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) and Claremont Investment Partners have introduced The
NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index (Nasdaq:NILI (Nasdaq:NILX), a
benchmark for high quality fundamentally weighted index performance.
he index is based on the patented quantitative and proprietarily
weighted methodology created by Claremont's founding partner, Gerald P.
Sullivan. The Industry Leaders(R) Portfolio Strategy is a patented
investment process that creates a portfolio of between 65 and 85 large
cap Blue Chip companies in 45 to 60 industries with superior credit
quality. The index leverages elements of equal weight, fundamental and
non-traditional index methodologies to create the monthly portfolio
allocations. The strategy is currently employed in a Morningstar 4 star
rated mutual fund, The Industry Leaders Fund (ILFIX, ILFLX).
"We are excited to be a partner with one of the most dynamic, technologically-advanced exchanges in the world. We believe The NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index will become an industry leader in the large cap, fundamentally weighted index universe. Our 10 year plus track record of actual (not hypothetical) results at the Fund is testament to the value that can be derived from our disciplined, quantitative and consistent index based approach to investing," said Gerry Sullivan, Chief Investment Officer and CFO of Claremont Investment Partners.
"We are pleased to partner with an industry leader such as Claremont Investment Partners," said John Jacobs, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX. "Claremont is an inventor of a proven, patented investment strategy and both NASDAQ OMX and Claremont share a commitment to transparency and innovation."
To view a list of companies in the NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/weighting.aspx?IndexSymbol=NILI&menuIndex =0.
NASDAQ OMX is a global leader in creating and licensing strategy indexes and is home to the most widely watched indexes in the world. As a premier, full-service provider, the NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group is dedicated to designing powerful indexes that are in sync with a continually changing market environment. Utilizing its expanded coverage as a global company, NASDAQ OMX has more than 1,500 diverse equity, commodity and fixed-income indexes in the U.S., Europe, and throughout the world.
NASDAQ OMX's calculation, licensing and marketing support provide the tools to measure and replicate global markets. The NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group's range of services covers the entire business process from index design to calculation and dissemination. For more information about NASDAQ OMX indexes, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
Access to essential historical index data for NASDAQ OMX indexes can be
accessed from a single source, NASDAQ OMX Global Index Watch. For
additional information, please visit
https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/indexwatch.aspx.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Financial Services Committee Approves Bipartisan Credit Rating Agencies Reform Bill
October 28, 2009-Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 3890, the Accountability and Transparency in Rating Agencies Act, introduced by Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises. The Committee passed H.R. 3890, with bipartisan support, by a vote of 49-14.
“The Accountability and Transparency in Rating Agencies Act aims to curb the inappropriate and irresponsible actions of credit rating agencies which greatly contributed to our current economic problems,” said Chairman Kanjorski. “This legislation builds on the Administration’s proposal and takes strong steps to reduce conflicts of interest, stem market reliance on credit rating agencies, and impose a liability standard on the agencies. As gatekeepers to our markets, credit rating agencies must be held to higher standards. We need to incentivize them to do their jobs correctly and effectively, and there must be repercussions if they fall short. This bill will take such steps. I look forward to moving it through the legislative process.”
A summary of H.R. 3890 follows:
Stronger than the Administration's Plan on Rating Agencies. The Accountability and Transparency in Rating Agencies Act expands on the initial credit rating agency legislation proposed by the Administration in that it:
Creates Accountability by Imposing Liability. The bill enhances the accountability of Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) by clarifying the ability of individuals to sue NRSROs. The bill also clarifies that the limitation on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any State not to regulate the substance of credit ratings or ratings methodologies does not afford a defense against civil anti-fraud actions.
Duty to Supervise. The bill adds a new duty to supervise an NRSRO's employees and authorizes the SEC to sanction supervisors for failing to do so.
Independent Board of Directors. The bill requires each NRSRO to have a board with at least one-third independent directors and these directors shall oversee policies and procedures aimed at preventing conflicts of interest and improving internal controls, among other things.
Mitigate conflicts of interests. The legislation also contains numerous new requirements designed to mitigate the conflicts of interest that arise out of the issuer-pays model for compensating NRSROs. Additionally, the bill significantly enhances the responsibilities and accountability of NRSRO compliance officers to address conflicts of interest issues.
Greater Public Disclosure. As a result of the bill, investors will gain access to more information about the internal operations and procedures of NRSROs. In addition, the public will now learn more about how NRSROs get paid.
Revolving-Door Protections. When certain NRSRO employees go to work for an issuer, the bill requires the NRSRO to conduct a 1-year look-back into the ratings in which the employee was involved to make sure that its procedures were followed and proper ratings were issued. The bill also requires NRSROs to report to the SEC, and for the SEC to make such reports public, the names of former NRSRO employees who go to work for issuers.
Source: House Financial Services Committee
NASDAQ Unveils Social Networking Community on www.nasdaq.com
October 28, 2009--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) today launched NASDAQ Community, an engaging and
interactive financial networking community, on
http://community.nasdaq.com.
NASDAQ Community is an integral part of
NASDAQ.com, which is the world's most popular stock exchange web site,
drawing about 2.4 million unique visitors per month.
NASDAQ Community facilitates interaction among Community members who
share common interests, ideas and experiences. NASDAQ Community can
help members become better-informed investors by engaging in the
following activities:
* Create a profile and add friends;
* Rate stocks and connect with other NASDAQ Community members to
view their stock picks and interests;
* Go beyond the data and gain investment insights with commentary
from top industry experts;
* Find the latest news and community events;
* Follow favorite authors; and
* Ask other Community members questions about financial needs.
"NASDAQ Community promotes market transparency and investor education
through active engagement among people with shared interests," said
John Jacobs, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX. "With rich content
and powerful tools, NASDAQ Community empowers investors -- from
sophisticated to novice -- and enables them to interact in a variety of
ways and become better investors. NASDAQ OMX is pleased to bring more
innovation and greater transparency to the markets."
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Schwab files with the SEC
October 27, 2009--Schwab has filed a prospectus witht the SEC for the following funds:
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Ticker symbol: SCHB
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index.
Total annual operating expenses :0.08
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Ticker symbol: SCHX
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index
Total annual operating expenses:0.08
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth
Ticker symbol: SCHG
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index
Total annual operating expenses:0.15
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Ticker symbol:SCHV
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Value Total Stock Market Index
Total annual operating expenses:0.15
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Ticker symbol:SCHA
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Indexsm.6
Total annual operating expenses:0.15
view filing
Source: SEC.gov