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STATE STREET HIGHLIGHTS, SEPTEMBER 2009
October 9, 2008--ETF assets reached an all-time, month-end high. As of September 30th 768 ETFs in the US — with assets totaling approximately $695BN — were managed by 28 ETF managers. ETF industry assets rose $33.6BN for the month, or 5.1%.
State Street Global Advisors (State Street) recently launched two new ETFs: the SPDR® S&P® VRDO Municipal Bond ETF [VRD] and the SPDR® Wells Fargo® Preferred Stock ETF [PSK].
The SPDR® S&P® VRDO Municipal Bond ETF [VRD] ETF is designed to provide investors with access to municipal variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), an asset class that seeks to offer attractive yields and stable income that is exempt from federal taxes and often state and local income taxes as well.
The SPDR® Wells Fargo® Preferred Stock ETF [PSK] provides investors with improved access to the benefits of this unique asset class, which may include attractive yield and a low correlation to both bonds and common stock.
The S&P® 500 gained 3.7% in September. MSCI EAFE® gained 3.9% for the month in USD terms.
The Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Index rose 0.8% while the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index gained 1.1%. Gold rose to $995.75 an ounce, a gain of 4.2% from last month’s close.
• All twelve categories gained assets. The International category rose the most in absolute terms, up $12.6BN, or 8.4%. Fixed Income assets climbed to over $90BN, a gain of 61% year-to-date.
Assets in the Size and Style categories were up $4.7BN, or 1.9%. Gains were concentrated in the Mid Cap and Small Cap categories; Large Cap fell slightly more than $2BN.
All ten sectors gained assets. The Materials sector saw assets jump 15.5% for the month. Industrials climbed 14.6%.
The top three managers in the US ETF marketplace were: Barclay’s Global Investors (BGI), State Street, and Vanguard. Collectively, they accounted for approximately 84.3% of the US-listed ETF market.
Average Daily Volume remained fairly stable at $60BN. • The top three US ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were:
the SPDR® S&P 500® [SPY], PowerShares QQQ [QQQQ], and iShares Russell 2000 [IWM].
The top three US ETPs in terms of assets were: the SPDR® S&P 500® [SPY], SPDR® Gold Shares [GLD], and iShares MSCI EAFE® [EFA].
Source: SPDR -State Strret Global Advisors
Pomerantz Law Firm Investigating Claims On Behalf of Investors in ProShares' UltraShort Oil and Gas Fund
October 9, 2009--Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP has filed a class action (09-cv-06935) on behalf of investors of ProShares' UltraShort Financials Fund (SKF).
The Firm is investigating claims in ProShares' UltraShort Oil and Gas Fund ("the DUG Fund") (NYSE: DUG), on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired shares in the DUG Fund, an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") offered by ProShares Trust ("ProShares"), pursuant or traceable to ProShares' false and misleading Registration Statement, Prospectuses, and Statements of Additional Information issued in connection with the DUG Fund's shares.
The DUG Fund is an inverse leveraged ETF that seeks investment returns that are two times the inverse performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil and Gas Index. The investigation centers on the allegation that the registration statement filed by ProShares failed to adequately disclose that DUG shares should not be held more than a single trading day and were not an appropriate hedge against a decline in U.S. based oil and stocks.
Those who invested are advised to contact Jeremy Lieberman at 888-476-6529 or 212-661-1100 or jalieberman@pomlaw.com.
Source: Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP
BMO Financial Group announces ticker symbol changes for BMO Exchange Traded Funds
October 8, 2009-BMO Financial Group announced ticker symbol changes effective October 13, 2009 for the BMO Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)(x). Details of the ticker symbol changes are as follows:
BMO Canadian Government Bond Index ETF -Previous Ticker:BGB
New Ticker-ZGB
BMO Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index ETF Previous Ticker:BCA
New Ticker: ZCN
BMO US Equity Index ETF-Previous Ticker: BUE
New Ticker:ZUE
BMO Dow Jones Diamonds Index ETF- Previous Ticker:BDJ
New Ticker:ZDJ
Source: Source: BMO Bank of Montreal; BMO Financial Group
US film company applies to launch ‘movie derivatives’
October 8, 2009-Being able to bet on whether a movie makes money or ends up a box office flop inched a step closer to reality on Thursday after a second company in the film business applied to US regulators to set up a “movie derivatives” exchange.
The US futures regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, submitted for public comment an application by Veriana Networks, a privately owned, Delaware-registered company to operate Media Derivatives (MDEX) as an “electronic exchange for contracts based on box office movie revenues”.read full story
Source: FT.com
CFTC Requests Public Comment on Application Submitted by Media Derivatives, Inc., for Designation of a Contract Market
October 8, 2009--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is asking for public comment on an application submitted by Media Derivatives, Inc., for designation as a contract market.
Comments should be submitted on or before Monday, November 5, 2009.
view the Media Derivatives, Inc. Application for Contract Market Designation Regulatory Chart
Comments may be submitted via email to secretary@cftc.gov. All comments received will be posted on the CFTC’s website.
Source: CFTC.gov
SEC Publishes 2010-2015 Draft Strategic Plan for Public Comment
October 8, 2009--The Securities and Exchange Commission today published for public comment its Draft Strategic Plan that outlines the Commission’s strategic goals for fiscal years 2010 through 2015.
The draft plan surveys the forces shaping the SEC’s environment and outlines over 70 initiatives designed to support its primary strategic goals.
The draft plan was prepared pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993
View the Draft SEC Strategic Plan for 2010-2015
The Commission is seeking comment on its draft Strategic Plan. The document includes drafts of the SEC’s mission, vision, values, strategic goals, major initiatives, and performance metrics for fiscal years 2010 through 2015.
Please send your comments to strategicplan@sec.gov no later than November 16, 2009.
Source: SEC.gov
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- US
October 7, 2009--Highlights
ETF Volume
US ETF turnover rose by 4.1% to US$58.8bn in the previous week. Turnover in the S&P 500 SPDR ("Spider") was US$19.0bn. The PowerShares QQQ Nasdaq 100 had turnover of US$4.3bn followed by the iShares Russell 2000 with turnover of US$2.8bn.
There were five new ETFs launched in the previous week. Grail Advisors LLC launched four new ETFs. BGI launched one new ETF. All these ETFs are listed on NYSE Arca.
n the previous week, average daily turnover in the Large Cap, US Sector Leveraged and global regional products was US$25.0bn (3.8%), US$9.0bn (5.3%), US$8.4bn (1.0%) and US$4.2bn (8.2%) respectively.
Among the Emerging country ETFs, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF turnover was US$1,045m followed by iShares FTSE/Xinhua China ETF with turnover of US$809m. In non-US developed market flows, iShares MSCI Japan had turnover of US$336m. In non-domestic regional flows, emerging market turnover was US$2.9bn and developed markets regional flows EAFE had turnover of US$1.1bn.
Assets under Management (AUM)
Total assets under management for equity based ETFs declined by 2.1% in the previous week, AUM were US$537bn.
To request a copy of the report click here
Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
Testimony of Chairman Gary Gensler, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Before the House Committee on Financial Services
October 7, 2009 --Good morning Chairman Frank, Ranking Member Bachus and members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today regarding the regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and, specifically, this Committee’s OTC Derivatives Markets Act of 2009 Discussion Draft.
I would like to address much-needed regulatory reform of OTC derivatives in the context of two principal goals: lowering risk to the American public and promoting transparency of the markets.
We embark upon this reform effort as the financial industry has become ever more concentrated. Given the events of the last decade, there are fewer providers of financial services today. There may be 15 to 20 large complex financial institutions that are at the center of today’s global derivatives marketplace.
Five to ten years from now, it is quite possible that the financial system will become even more concentrated. With fewer actors on the stage, it is especially important that we lower the risk of these participants and bring sunshine to the activities in which they are involved. One year ago, the financial system failed the American public. The financial regulatory system failed the American public.
Exhibit A of these twin failures was the collapse of AIG. Every single taxpayer in this room – both the members of this Committee and the audience – put money into a company that most Americans had never even heard of. Approximately $180 billion of our tax dollars went into AIG – that is nearly $414 million per each of your Congressional districts. While a year has passed and the system appears to have stabilized, we cannot relent in our mission to vigorously address weaknesses and gaps in our regulatory structure.
Lowering Risk To lower risk to the American public, the Administration proposed four essential components of reform.
First, those financial institutions that deal in derivatives should be required to have sufficient capital. Capital requirements reduce the risk that losses incurred by one particular dealer or the insolvency of one of its customers will threaten the financial stability of other institutions in the system. While many of these dealers, being financial institutions, are currently regulated for capital, I believe that we should explicitly – both in statute and by rule – require capital for their derivatives exposure. This is particularly important for nonbank dealers who are not currently regulated or subject to capital requirements.
Second, swap dealers should be required to post and collect margin for individual transactions. Margin requirements reduce the risk that either counterparty to a trade will fail to perform its obligations under the contract. This would protect end-users of derivatives from a dealer’s failure as well as guard dealers from end-users’ failures.
read more
Source: CFTC.gov
Grail Advisors files prospectus with the SEC
October 7, 2009--Grail Advisors has filed a prelimenary prospectus for the RP SHORT DURATION ETF.
This ETF uses an actively managed investment strategy to meet its investment objective.
The ETF invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in debt securities.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
U.S. ONE TRUST files registration statement with the SEC
October 6, 2009--U.S. ONE TRUST has filed a registration with the SEC for:
ONE FUND
NYSE Arca Ticker Symbol: ONEF
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Total Annual Fund Operating Fee:0.46%
View filing
Source: SEC.gov