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Morningstar Reports U.S. Mutual Fund and ETF Asset Flows Through February 2010
April 15, 2010--Morningstar, Inc. a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund asset flows through February 2010. Although investors poured $30.3 billion into mutual funds overall in February, $3.7 billion exited U.S. stock funds, marking the fifth outflow in the last six months. ETF inflows reached $4.6 billion in February after steep outflows of roughly $16.7 billion in January. The U.S. ETF industry closed out February with about $764.6 billion in total net assets, up roughly 2.4% from $746.9 billion in December and up 67.9% from $455.5 billion during the same period in 2009.
Additional highlights from the report on mutual funds:
Excluding domestic-stock funds, every other major asset class took in assets in February, led by taxable-bond funds with inflows of $19.8 billion.
Templeton Global Bond has taken in more than $14.5 billion in assets over the past 12 months, second only to PIMCO Total Return in bond inflows. PIMCO Short-Term Bond has also seen significant growth over the same period, and its total net assets are now $10.6 billion.
Many of the fastest-growing new funds that have launched over the past six months are associated with target-date funds, notably Fidelity Series Commodity Strategy, which is one of the underlying funds in Fidelity's Freedom Target-Date series, and Fidelity Series Inflation-Protected Bond Index.
JPMorgan and T. Rowe Price began 2010 on a strong note, with year-to-date inflows of $5.3 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively.
Additional highlights from the report on ETFs:
While investors pulled money from domestic-stock mutual funds in February, domestic-stock ETFs topped all ETF asset classes for February inflows, led by SPDRs SPY with roughly $1.5 billion in net inflows.
Investors withdrew about $2.9 billion from international-stock ETFs in February, the most among the broad asset classes and the first monthly outflow the asset class has experienced since August 2009.
Commodity ETFs saw net outflows of approximately $981.0 million in February, which marked the second consecutive month of net redemptions after 14 straight months of net inflows.
Leveraged and leveraged-inverse ETFs saw some $859.7 million in net new assets in February, with investors favoring short exposure at the expense of leveraged funds offering long exposure.
view Morningstar DirectSM Fund Flows Update
CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Request From CME Clearing and NYMEX Involving Contracts Traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange
March 15, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is requesting public comment on a petition submitted by the Clearing House Division of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME Clearing) and the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) to amend an existing order in connection with contracts traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME).
In April 2008, the Commission issued an order under Section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act permitting NYMEX and clearing member futures commission merchants to hold customer positions and associated funds held in connection with NYMEX’s clearing of specific futures contracts traded on or subject to the rules of the DME with other funds held in the segregated account. CME Clearing and NYMEX wish to amend the order to include four new financially-settled option and swap futures contracts that will be listed for trading on or subject to the rules of DME and cleared by NYMEX through CME Clearing.
Comments regarding the request should be submitted on or before April 15, 2010.
Comments may be submitted electronically to secretary@cftc.gov. All comments received will be posted on the Commission’s website.
Chicago Exchange Files for $300 Million I.P.O.
March 12, 2010--
The last major private exchange left in the U.S., the Chicago Board Options Exchange, filed for an initial public offering of up to $300 million Thursday, The Associated Press reported.
The C.B.O.E. plans to convert from a member-owned organization to a publicly traded corporation known as CBOE Holdings that analysts say could be worth up to $5 billion.
The Chicago exchange, the largest platform for options trading in the U.S., did not say when it planned to go public or how many shares it hoped to sell. The C.B.O.E. has wanted to go public for a long time. It settled a dispute over payment for ownership with the CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, in August 2008, clearing the way for an I.P.O.
Van Eck files with the SEC
March 12, 2010--Van Eck has filed a amended and restated application for exemptive relief from the SEC.
view filing
Administration Releases February Loan Modification Report
March 12, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released February data for the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
As of the end of the month, more than one million borrowers were receiving a median savings of $500 each month – a 36 percent median monthly payment decrease. Permanent modifications have been granted to 170,000 homeowners and an additional 91,800 permanent modifications have been approved by servicers and are pending only borrower acceptance.
ETFs Based on the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index are Launched by Direxion Shares
March 12, 2010--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. today announced that two new exchange traded funds (ETFs)
based on NASDAQ OMX's PHLX Semiconductor SectorSM index (SOX) have been introduced today by Direxion Shares. The new ETFs are leveraged Bull
and Bear index funds that seek 300% of the daily performance, or 300%
of the inverse of the daily performance (before fees and expenses), of
the PHLX Semiconductor Sector index, the most widely recognized index
investors use to track the semiconductor industry.
"The PHLX Semiconductor Sector index provides broad exposure to an
industry that is increasingly tied to the global economy," said John
Jacobs, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group. "With the launch of these ETFs, investors can now employ new investment strategies involving some of the world's most innovative companies that often drive the broader technology industry."
On March 11, the following ETFs that offer leveraged long and short exposure to the PHLX Semiconductor Sector index began trading:
-- Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL)
-- Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (SOXS)
"Direxion is a leader in delivering innovative investment solutions that provide magnified exposure to a spectrum of specific industry sectors, on both the long and short end," stated Dan O'Neill, Direxion Shares' President. "We are pleased to introduce our new Semiconductor 3x ETFs, which reflect our commitment to serving sophisticated investors with tactical investment tools amid changing market conditions."
The PHLX Semiconductor Sector index is a modified
capitalization-weighted index composed of companies primarily involved
in the design, distribution, manufacture, and sale of semiconductors.
To view a complete list of component companies, visit
https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/weighting.aspx?IndexSymbol=SOX&menuIndex=
0.
Direct Edge Granted Exchange Status By SEC
Third Largest U.S. Stock Market to Commence Exchange Operations in Early Q2; Coincides With Launch of Its New Trading Platform and Data Center
March 12, 2010--Direct Edge announced today that the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has officially approved the exchange applications for its ECN trading systems, EDGA and EDGX, as two registered national securities exchanges. Direct Edge anticipates its equities marketplace to commence exchange operations in early spring 2010.
"This approval is an exciting milestone for Direct Edge and, importantly, for all market participants who value choice and competition in the market," said William O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Edge. "Direct Edge's business is centered on delivering innovative products, creative solutions and better executions to our customers -- not simply matching buyers and sellers -- and exchange status affords us even more opportunities to continue doing just that."
"We are extremely grateful to the SEC for working so closely with us throughout this process and for its swift yet diligent approach to reviewing and approving our exchange applications," said O'Brien. "Furthermore, we are extremely thankful to our strategic partners and all of our customers who recognize the merits of our offering and have helped make Direct Edge the third largest U.S. stock exchange behind only the NYSE and NASDAQ."
Direct Edge filed for exchange status in May 2009.
The Direct Edge Exchange will launch on a next-generation trading system designed to deliver optimal trading speed and efficiency to customers while helping to reduce technology costs for the company. The infrastructure will be housed in the new state-of-the-art Equinix NY4 data center in Secaucus, NJ.
More information about Direct Edge is available at www.directedge.com.
Funds find reward in faith-based investments in Oklahoma City
March 11, 2010--Oklahoma City-based FaithShares Advisors launched five new exchange-traded funds in December. This month, four of them cracked Lipper Ratings’ top 10 large-cap funds.
"In 33 years in this business, I had never seen that kind of performance,” said Tom Phillips, president of FaithShares Advisors. "Of course, it’s only two months — not 20 years.”
Although the ranking ran in the Wall Street Journal, it didn’t attract a lot of attention from buyers, nor from the founders. Phillips said he didn’t see the ranking, which ran deep within the newspaper, until someone pointed it out to him a couple of days after it publication.
Direxion files with the SEC
March 11, 2010--Direxion has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC.
view filing
Old Mutual puts US life business up for sale
March 11, 2010--Old Mutual has engaged JPMorgan to explore a sale of the group’s US life assurance business and has already had a number of expressions of interest, according to people familiar with the situation.
The US business suffered huge swings in the value of its assets through the financial crisis and Old Mutual has had to pump in capital and overhaul its costs, products and investment portfolio.
CBOE Holdings, Inc. Files Registration Statement For Proposed Initial Public Offering
March 11, 2010--CBOE Holdings, Inc. announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to its proposed initial public offering of shares of its class of unrestricted common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. The shares of unrestricted common stock to be sold in this offering are proposed to be sold by CBOE Holdings and/or certain stockholders. CBOE Holdings will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.
CBOE Holdings intends for the proposed offering to take place concurrently with the proposed demutualization of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated, currently the parent corporation of CBOE Holdings. Subject to a vote by the members of CBOE in favor of demutualization, CBOE Holding's and CBOE's goal is to complete both the demutualization and the IPO by the end of the second quarter of 2010. It is the intention of CBOE Holdings to use the net proceeds from the shares sold by the company for general corporate purposes, including the repurchase of shares of the common stock to be issued to CBOE members in the demutualization and to members of the settlement class who will be receiving stock under the settlement agreement in the exercise right litigation between CBOE and former members of the Chicago Board of Trade.
The sole global coordinator of the offering will be Goldman, Sachs & Co. This offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained by contacting Goldman, Sachs & Co., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Prospectus Department (Phone: +1 866 471 2526; Fax: +1 212 902 9316; e-mail: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com.) A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
State Street Global Advisors Launches Russia ETF
* New ETF targets one of world's hottest markets
Will compete with similar Van Eck ETF
State Street Corp (STT.N) on Thursday unveiled a new exchange-traded fund investing in shares of red-hot Russian companies.
The Russian stock market has almost tripled over the past year, by far the best performance of major country equity indexes. Only Ukraine and Romania rose more, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group.
The new SPDR S&P Russia ETF (RBL.P) is based on Standard & Poor's BMI Russia Capped Index. The index consists of 72 Russian stocks, each with a float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $100 million and a minimum value traded of $50 million in the previous year.MP
Direxion Shares Launches Six New Leveraged ETFs
March 11, 2010--Direxion, a pioneer in providing alternative and tactically-oriented investment strategies to sophisticated investors, is pleased to announce the launch of six new Direxion Shares Daily ETFs to its existing lineup of multi-directional, leveraged funds. This brings the total number of leveraged ETFs offered by Direxion to thirty-four.
The new ETFs are leveraged Bull and Bear funds that seek 200% of the daily performance, or 200% of the inverse of the daily performance (before fees and expenses), of the BNY Mellon BRIC Select ADR Index and the Indus India Index. In addition, the new ETFs include leveraged Bull and Bear funds that seek 300% of the daily performance, or 300% of the inverse of the daily performance (before fees and expenses), of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index. The new BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and India funds are the first 2x daily leveraged ETFs that Direxion has launched.
These new funds, and all Direxion Shares ETFs, are intended for use only by sophisticated investors who understand the risks associated with seeking daily leveraged investment results and plan to actively monitor and manager their positions in the funds. There is no guarantee that the funds will achieve their objective.
"Direxion strives to provide innovative investment solutions that enable investors to employ tactical portfolio strategies amid changing market conditions," stated Dan O'Neill, Direxion Shares' President. "We have provided the investment community with many industry 'firsts.' With this launch, we are pleased to offer the first 2x leveraged BRIC and India ETFs. The BRIC economies represent some of the fastest-growing in the world, and we are pleased to provide a vehicle for trading in these markets."
Many sophisticated advisors and institutional investors are using Direxion 3x leveraged ETFs to hedge positions in their current portfolios, while others are using the Funds to seek to take advantage of short-term trading opportunities available in today's markets.
The BNY Mellon BRIC Select ADR Index comprises a select group of American depositary receipts from Brazil, Russia, India and China. The Indus India Index is designed to represent the Indian equity markets as a whole. Its universe of components includes the 200 largest companies listed on the National Stock Exchange and the largest 200 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index tracks the performance of U.S. semiconductor makers and equipment manufacturers.
Remarks of Chairman Gary Gensler, OTC Derivatives Reform, FIA’s Annual International Futures Industry Conference, Boca Raton, Florida
March 11, 2010--Good morning. I would like to thank the Futures Industry Association for inviting me to speak here this morning. I also want to thank the international regulators who flew in from around the globe to join our meeting yesterday to discuss and coordinate our financial reform efforts.
The First Derivatives Markets
Another important event in Chicago, just six years before Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over that infamous lantern, was the starting of derivatives trading. Of course everybody in this room knows these derivatives as futures, which started trading when farmers and grain merchants came together to hedge their price risk in corn, wheat and other grains. It took nearly 60 years before Congress brought regulation to this earlier derivatives marketplace to lower risk and promote transparency and market integrity.
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I would like to use this opportunity to discuss much-needed regulatory reform of the over-the-counter derivatives marketplace as well as to update you on some of the changes we hope to make at the CFTC. I am going to discuss these issues in the context of two significant events in American history, both of which occurred in mid-19th Century Chicago.
Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow
As most of us learned as school children, in 1871, what started as a small fire quickly spread through Chicago to destroy much of the city. The story goes that it was ignited when Mrs. Catherine O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in her barn. Many of the buildings in Chicago were made of wood, so the fire spread too quickly for firefighters to extinguish it. As a result of the fire, Chicago implemented new building and fire codes to prevent a repeat of the disaster. While Chicago didn’t burn down solely because of weak building codes, those new rules went on to protect the residents of Chicago from the spread of future fires.
