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Old Mutual explores sale of US business
February 19, 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.
Investors Attracted to Commission-Free ETFs Find Largest Selection at Folio Investing
Folio Investing clients can also trade individual stocks and mutual funds without paying per-trade commissions. Clients can get this unlimited, commission-free trading and more for a fixed fee of $29 per month, or $290 per year.
Founded in 2000, Folio Investing eliminated the traditional commission-based pricing structure by developing a patented system of window trading: Clients' buy and sell orders are bundled, matched internally, and then sent to the market during one of two daily trading windows. The savings in execution costs is passed on to customers.
"Offering a commission-free selection of only a couple of dozen ETFs potentially limits the investing and diversification options for investors," said Greg Vigrass, president and CEO of the Folio Institutional division. "Such a limited number may confine investors to choosing from funds whose management fees are high, whose investments are inappropriate, or where there may be conflicts of interest. Our platform offers hundreds of ETFs, from every issuer, and investors can make their best selection based on cost, asset class, diversification, and their own investment needs and strategies."
As exchange-traded funds increasingly become the core building blocks of the modern portfolio, Folio Investing's innovative platform has demonstrated that it best enables investors to fully leverage the ETFs' unique capabilities. A blended portfolio of ETFs, stocks and mutual funds — called a "Folio" — can be purchased in a single transaction. Over time, investors can realize the power of dollar cost averaging by making ongoing commission-free contributions to their brokerage account, spreading their investments across the underlying holdings as desired.
Folio Investing's low-cost ETF-based Target Date Folios are among the few Target Date products which combine the best aspects of both Life-Cycle and Life-Style funds. These and all other Folios can be further customized to suit the individual investor.
CME Group Announces New Leadership Roles Durkin has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including senior leadership positions at CME Group and The Chicago Board of Trade. Durkin will continue to report to CME Group President Phupinder Gill.
Rick Redding, who previously led Products & Services, has assumed a new planning role related to CME Group's pending ownership stake in a new index services venture with Dow Jones. Redding has an extensive background in equity markets, having previously run the company's equity product line for 10 years and forged strong relationships with all of its index licensors. Together with Scot Warren, Managing Director, Equity Products and Index Services, Redding will assist with the joint venture formation and strategic planning process. Redding also will work with Durkin for a transition period to ensure continuity in the company's efforts to develop its core business, OTC products and global sales force. Redding will assume the new role of Managing Director, Products & Services Initiatives, and he will report to Durkin.
Treasury Assistant Secretary, Tennessee Secretary of State Tout Benefits of Recovery Act School Construction Bonds
"The road to economic recovery runs right through our state and local communities," said Treasury Assistant Secretary Tangherlini. "Recovery Act qualified school construction bonds provide communities access to the funds they need to build and upgrade schools. And by helping build schools, we're creating jobs today and preparing our kids to compete in the global economy in the future." Soros More Than Doubled Gold ETF Stake in 4th Quarter First Trust files with the SEC DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Market Review -- US - New Report-Revamped
In the equity asset class, US sector ETPs had the highest inflows of $1.5 billion followed by Small Cap ETPs, while Large Cap ETPs experienced the largest outflows of $914 million, followed by regional ETPs tracking Emerging Markets (Figures 12 and 15). Strategy ETPs (Short, Leveraged, and Leveraged Short) continued to attract signficant cash flows.
Sovereign and US Sub-sovereign contributed the most to the positive cash flows into Fixed Income ETPs.
Within Commodity ETPs, those tracking Natural Gas saw the largest outflows followed by those tracking the overall group of Industrial Metals. Meanwhile, broad commodity benchmark ETPs and Crude Oil ETPs experienced the largest inflows.
Turnover
Turnover has increased significantly in ETPs tracking the following benchmarks: Large Cap, Leveraged/Leveraged Short Strategy and Regional/Emerging Markets (Figures 30 and 33). For Fixed Income ETPs, turnover in the Sovereign space increased the most (Figures 31 and 34). Commodity ETP turnover decrease was mainly driven by Natural Gas, Gold, Silver, and Agriculture.
Assets Under Management (AUM) To request a copy of the report New SGX Fuel Oil Futures Contract Receives US Regulatory Go- Ahead The SGX Fuel Oil 380cst futures contract will start trading on Monday, 22 February 2010 in the afternoon at 2.30pm (Singapore time). Van Eck Global Lists Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF on NYSE Arca Fund.com Subsidiary AdvisorShares Announces a Partnership with Peritus Asset Management to Develop ETFs
In addition, in an exclusive arrangement, Peritus Asset Management has agreed to develop all its future ETFs with AdvisorShares.
"Peritus has an outstanding track record managing high yield investments," said Noah Hamman, CEO and founder of AdvisorShares. "AdvisorShares believes an important advantage of actively managed ETFs is to enable more investors to benefit from particularly skillful advisors such as Peritus."
Tim Gramatovich, chief investment officer of Peritus Asset Management, said, "At Peritus, we take a value-based contrarian approach to the credit markets, foregoing relative value and new issue participation in favor of absolute returns. We look for structural and technical inefficiencies within secondary credit markets that create tremendous investment opportunities."
"We believe AdvisorShares will help us create distinctive, actively managed products that will introduce new investors to our value-based approach," he added.
Greg Webster, CEO of Fund.com said, "Our subsidiary AdvisorShares is becoming a leader in launching new and exciting actively managed ETFs. Peritus is an excellent example of an outstanding manager whose management expertise will become available to a broad range of investors though AdvisorShares ETF platform." Emerging Global Advisors Lists Emerging Global Shares INDXX China Infrastructure Index Fund on NYSE Arca RiverPark Advisors, LLC file for exemptive relief KBW Announces Changes to KBW Bank Index (BKX)
The KBW family of indices that has tradable exchange traded funds are: KBW Bank Index (Index Symbol: BKX(SM), ETF Symbol KBE(SM)); KBW Capital Markets Index (Index Symbol: KSX(SM), ETF Symbol KCE(SM)); KBW Insurance Index (Index Symbol: KIX(SM), ETF Symbol KIE(SM)); KBW Mortgage Finance Index (Index Symbol: MFX(SM), ETF Symbol: KME(SM)), and KBW Regional Banking Index (Index Symbol: KRX(SM), ETF Symbol: KRE(SM)). Administration Releases January Loan Modification Report
"With nearly one million homeowners paying less each month and the number of permanent modifications steadily rising, HAMP is doing the job it was designed to do," said Phyllis Caldwell, Chief of Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office. "Struggling families are receiving payment relief and the housing market is showing signs of stabilization."
Mortgage modifications are one piece of the Administration's broader housing market stabilization plan. Other efforts include support for lower mortgage rates and access to credit, state and local housing agency initiatives, tax credits for homebuyers, neighborhood stabilization and community development programs, and support for mortgage refinancing. After just one year since President Obama announced the Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan, more than 4 million homeowners have refinanced their mortgages to more affordable levels, interest rates are at record lows, home prices and home sales are rising again and the economy is growing.
According to HUD Senior Advisor for Mortgage Finance William Apgar: "As the number of permanent modifications grows, HUD will continue to work with our Administration partners and utilize our broad network of housing counseling agencies to increase those numbers still further." FINRA Proposes Further Expansion of Broker Information Publicly Available Through BrokerCheck "These proposed changes will provide additional information to investors who are considering whether to conduct, or continue to conduct, business with a particular securities firm or broker," said FINRA Chairman and CEO Rick Ketchum. "Just as important, they will provide valuable information about persons who have left the securities industry, often not of their own accord, but who can still cause great harm to the investing public. Recent regulatory and criminal proceedings in the financial services sector reveal that former brokers have been engaging in fraud and other misconduct long after establishing themselves in other segments of the financial services industry."
Brokerage Provides Commission-Free Trading Option For Over 800 ETFs
February 19, 2010--As the popularity of exchange-traded funds continues to increase, investors are discovering that the industry's largest selection of commission-free ETFs is available through online brokerage Folio Investing, which charges a low, fixed membership fee in lieu of per-trade commissions.
While at least two other online brokerages recently announced that they are offering commission-free trading on limited groups of ETFs, Folio Investing's innovative platform allows commission-free trades in the shares of nearly all of the more than 800 U.S.-registered ETFs in its twice-daily trading windows. Additionally, Folio Investing makes it easy for investors to create a blended portfolio of multiple ETFs for even broader diversification — all at no additional cost.
February 19, 2010--CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the following changes to its Management Team to further serve its global customer base:
Bryan T. Durkin, who has served as Chief Operating Officer since 2007, will now assume oversight of the company's Products & Services Division in addition to his current responsibilities.
In his new role as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Products & Services, Durkin will lead both the operations and sales functions for CME Group to focus on increasing product line growth and meeting customer needs worldwide.
February 19, 2010--As part of an effort to mark the one year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) and highlight the local impact of Recovery Act programs, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Management and CFO Dan Tangherlini joined Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and other local and school officials today in Maryville, Tenn. to break ground on the construction of a new school funded with nearly $19 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds.
Created by the Recovery Act, these school bonds help state and local governments obtain low-cost financing for much needed public school improvements and construction. Tennessee was allocated more than $184 million in school construction bonds for 2009, and to date the Tennessee State School Bond Authority has approved $177 million in bond issuances for 25 projects across the state.
February 18, 2010--Billionaire George Soros’s Soros Fund Management LLC more than doubled its holding in the biggest gold exchange-traded fund in the fourth quarter after bullion advanced 8.9 percent to a record.
The $25 billion New York-based firm became the fourth- largest holder in the SPDR Gold Trust, adding 3.728 million shares valued at $421 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Its investment was worth about $663 million, the fund’s largest single investment, as of Dec. 31.
February 19, 2010-First Trust has filed post-effective amendment. registation statement with the SEC.
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February 18, 2010--Highlights:
New Listings and Delistings
There were 9 new listings in the last week . ProShares listed 8 Equity ETFs offering +3X and -3X exposure on US indices while the remaining product, issued by Old Mutual Global Shares Trust, was a regional ETF offering Global ex-US exposure. 7 of the 9 ETPs are listed in NYSE Arca and 2 are listed in Nasdaq.
Net Cashflows
This week, $1.44 billion flowed into ETPs. Equity and Fixed Income ETPs had inflows of $1.14 billion and $531 million, respectively, while Commodity and Currency ETPs had outflows of $90 million and $130 million, repectively.
ETP turnover rose by 7.1% during last week and totaled $81 billion. Equity ETP turnover experienced the largest increase.
US ETPs AUM rose by 1.6% totaling $744 bn at the end of last week. Equity ETPs had the lion’s share with $550 bn and 74% of market share, followed by Fixed Income funds with $115 bn and 15% of market share.
February 18, 2010--Singapore Exchange (SGX) is pleased to announce that institutions and market participants in the United States (U.S.) can readily trade the SGX Fuel Oil 380cst futures contract.
This follows the confirmation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it has no objection to the contract being offered and sold in the U.S. The CFTC’s decision will significantly strengthen the appeal of the contract for traders and investors in the international marketplace, and as a hedging tool.
February 18, 2010--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, today began trading the Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF(Ticker: EGPT). The ETF is sponsored by Van Eck Global.
The Fund seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Egypt Index, which is a rules based, modified capitalization weighted, float adjusted index comprised of publicly traded companies that are domiciled and primarily listed on an exchange in Egypt or that generate at least 50% of their revenues in Egypt.
Peritus Asset Management Signs Exclusive Agreement to develop all future ETFs with AdvisorShares
February 19, 2010--Fund.com said today that its subsidiary, AdvisorShares Investments, LLC, a developer and distributor of actively managed ETFs, announced today a partnership with Peritus Asset Management, LLC. The Santa Barbara, CA, value-based, active credit investment manager will create a new actively managed ETF, anticipated to be a high yield bond-focused ETF.
The new ETF would join AdvisorShares' growing stable of innovative actively managed ETFs.
February 17, 2010 –- NYSE Euronext announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, today began trading theEmerging Global Shares INDXX China Infrastructure Index Fund(Ticker: CHXX). The ETF is sponsored by Emerging Global Advisors.
The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield performance of the INDXX China Infrastructure Index, which is a free-float market capitalization weighted stock market index comprised of 30 leading companies that INDXX, LLC determines to be representative of China’s Infrastructure sectors.
February 17, 2010--RiverPark Advisors ETF Trust has filed an application for exemptive relief.
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February 17, 2010--Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of KBW, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!kbw/quotes/nls/kbw (KBW 27.19, -0.29, -1.05%) , today announces upcoming changes to the KBW Bank Index (Index Symbol: BKX(SM), ETF Symbol: KBE(SM)).
Effective prior to the opening of business on Monday, February 22, 2010, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!pnc/quotes/nls/pnc (PNC 51.85, -0.59, -1.13%) , a member of the BKX, will undergo an increase in shares to account for its recent equity offering.
Number of permanent modifications nearly doubles over previous month; over one million trial modifications started
February 17, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released January data for the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), demonstrating that the number of homeowners receiving immediate relief and converting to permanent modifications continues to rise.
More than 116,000 homeowners now have permanent modifications, nearly doubling the number from December, which also marked record progress. An additional 76,000 permanent modifications have been offered, and are waiting only for the borrower's signature. In total, over 1 million homeowners have started trial modifications and nearly 1.3 million offers for trial modifications have been extended to homeowners.
February 17, 2010--The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it is seeking authority to significantly expand the amount of information available to the public on current and former securities brokers through its free online BrokerCheck service.
The proposed expansion – which FINRA will submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the near future – would increase the number of customer complaints reported publicly; extend the public disclosure period for the full record of a broker who leaves the industry from two years to 10 years; and, make certain information about former brokers available permanently, such as criminal convictions and certain civil and arbitration judgments.
