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The Options Industry Council Announces September Options Trading Volume Decreased 16 Percent
October 1, 2009--The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that total options trading volume in September was 314,809,865 contracts, down 15.95 percent compared to September 2008 volume of 374,531,673 contracts—the second highest monthly total on record.
Daily trading volume for September 2009 averaged 14,990,946 contracts compared to 17,834,842 contracts each day in September 2008, which equals a 15.95 percent decrease. September 17 was the fourth highest daily volume on record when 27,728,681 contracts changed hands.
Year-to-date trading volume for September stood at 2,722,167,856 contracts compared to the same point last year when 2,740,387,966 contracts were traded, representing a 0.66 percent decrease. Year-to-date trading volume averaged 14,479,616 contracts each day through September, 0.14 percent lower than the 14,499,407 contracts averaged each day for the same period last year.
OIC also reported that equity options volume in September came in at 293,862,512 contracts, a decrease of 13.90 percent over the 341,301,652 contracts traded during the same period last year. Daily equity options volume had an average of 13,993,453 contracts per day in September, which is 13.90 percent less than the same period last year when 16,252,460 contracts were averaged each day. Year-to-date equity options stood at 2,543,553,491 contracts, representing an increase of .89 percent compared to the same point last year when 2,521,133,714 contracts were traded.
Source: The Options Industry Council (OIC)
FINRA Proposes Expanding TRACE Reporting to Asset-Backed Securities
Proposal Seeks Collection of Market Data for ABS, CDO, MBS Instruments
October 1, 2009--The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today is proposing the expansion of FINRA's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine TM (TRACE TM) to include all asset-backed securities (ABSs), including mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). As with the original implementation of TRACE in 2002, FINRA would initially only collect ABS transaction data. After detailed analysis and observation of the market, FINRA would determine whether dissemination of ABS data is appropriate.
"For regulators, there is a demonstrated need for ABS market information," said Richard G. Ketchum, FINRA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Greater disclosure around these securities directly linked to the credit crisis will allow for more effective oversight with a deeper understanding of market dynamics."
TRACE reporting of ABS transactions would provide to FINRA trade prices, volume and other information. FINRA's ability to supervise the market would be enhanced through a better-informed surveillance program designed to detect fraud, manipulation, unfair pricing and other misconduct that violates federal securities laws and FINRA rules.
Generally, FINRA favors transparency in the debt securities markets. Indeed, real-time dissemination of transaction information is provided for nearly all TRACE-eligible securities. FINRA also believes that the transparency in corporate bonds provided by TRACE today has contributed to better pricing, more precise valuations and reduced investor costs.
However, the characteristics of the ABS market differ sufficiently from the corporate debt market, to the extent that FINRA believes close study of ABS information and the broader market is required to determine if dissemination of ABS market data is beneficial.
The plan for ABS disclosure to FINRA, filed as a rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, follows the SEC's approval earlier this week of TRACE reporting for debt issued by federal government agencies, government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), as well as primary market transactions in new issues. The reporting for the government agencies and the primary market goes into effect March 1, 2010.
View Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Expansion of TRACE to Include Asset-Backed Securities, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Other Similar Securities
Source: FINRA.org
CBOE SEPTEMBER DAILY VOLUME AVERAGES 4.7 MILLION CONTRACTS:MONTHLY TRADING VOLUME UP FROM AUGUST 2009, DOWN FROM RECORD SEPTEMBER 2008
October 1, 2009-- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) today reported that trading volume during September 2009 averaged 4.7 million contracts per day, a rise of six percent from August 2009 average daily volume (ADV) of 4.4 million contracts.CBOE September ADV experienced a 22-percent decline from ADV of 6.1 million contracts in September 2008, the most active September and second-highest volume month ever at CBOE. Trading volume in September 2009 totaled 98.9 million contracts versus 127.2 million contracts in September 2008.
Year to date, CBOE ADV was 4.6 million contracts compared to 4.8 million contracts ADV during the first nine months of 2008, a four-percent decrease. Year-to-date 2009 volume totaled 856.9 million contracts, five percent behind the record 899.6 million contracts traded during the same period in 2008.
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Source: CBOE Group
PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio (PVI) Surpasses $1 Billion in AUM
October 1, 2009--Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that on Friday, September 25, the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio (PVI) surpassed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Launched in November of 2007, the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio was the first ETF to provide investors access to the variable rate demand obligation (VRDO) market. VRDOs are floating-rate municipal bonds that offer investors tax-exempt income in a short-term time frame.
Historically, the VRDO market has generally been accessible only by institutional investors. Large trading denominations (generally starting at $100,000) created a barrier between VRDOs and the average investor. Invesco PowerShares took strides to eliminate that barrier by launching PVI.
“Invesco PowerShares has strived to provide investors access to markets that have traditionally been difficult to invest in, and we are very pleased with the success of PVI,” said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of Invesco PowerShares. “The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio epitomizes our commitment to providing innovative investment products that feature the tax efficiency*, transparency**, and liquidity*** benefits inherent to the ETF structure.”
The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio is based on the Thomson Municipal Market Data VRDO Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Index. The Index is designed to track the performance of a pool of tax-exempt VRDOs issued by municipalities in the United States on which the yields generally reset on a weekly basis. For additional information on PVI please visit http://www.invescopowershares.com/vrdo/.
Source: PowerShares Invesco
Legg Mason Mulls Active ETFs
October 1, 2009--Legg Mason is considering offering actively managed ETFs, according to Matt Schiffman, head of retail at the Baltimore fund firm.
"The active ETF space may offer some opportunities for us," he told the audience at the Maximizing Distribution Impact by Channel discussion at the MFWire Influencers' Summit on Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.
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Source: Mutual Fund Wire
Deutsche Bank to restructure commodity ETFs
October 1, 2009--Deutsche Bank has announced that it will restructure its PowerShares commodity-linked exchange traded funds (ETFs) to "satisfy position limits imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)", the bank said in a statement
The bank will increase the number of commodities tracked by the Commodity Index Tracking Fund and the Agricultural Fund to diversify both ETFs' exposures, reduce the funds' holdings in Chicago corn and wheat, and meet the position limits imposed by the CFTC.
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Source: Energy Risk
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- US
September 30, 2009-- Highlights
ETF Volume
US ETF turnover remained at about the same level at US$56.5bn in the previous week. Turnover in the S&P 500 SPDR ("Spider") was US$18.4bn. The PowerShares QQQ Nasdaq 100 had turnover of US$4.0bn followed by the iShares Russell 2000 with turnover of US$2.6bn.
There were five new ETFs launched in the previous week. BGI launched three new ETFs, State Street GA launched one new fixed income ETF and United States Commodity Funds LLC launched one new commodity ETF. All these ETFs are listed on NYSE Arca. (See page 8 for further details)
In the previous week, average daily turnover in the Large Cap, US Sector, Leveraged and global regional products was US$24.1bn (-1.4%), US$8.6bn (-0.1%), US$8.3bn (-0.7%) and US$3.9bn (2.1%) respectively.
Among the Emerging country ETFs, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF turnover was US$932m followed by iShares FTSE/Xinhua China ETF with turnover of US$830m. In non-US developed market flows, iShares MSCI Japan had turnover of US$322m. In non-domestic regional flows, emerging market turnover was US$2.6bn and developed markets regional flows EAFE had turnover of US$1.1bn.
Assets under Management (AUM)
Total assets under management for equity based ETFs remained at about the same level in the previous week, AUM were US$548.3bn. See page 8 for largest changes in fund shares.
To request a copy of the report click here
Source: Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange land in Los Angeles
September 30, 2009-- Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange's 2009 U.S. Campaign arrives in Los Angeles today to highlight how California-based companies can benefit from listing on the Canadian equity exchanges. The breakfast event at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel will outline the exchanges' prominence as international resource equities markets as well as their expertise in financing, mentoring and supporting emerging companies. Registration will begin at 7AM and the event's sessions will conclude at 11:30AM.
Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange are world leading markets for micro to mid-cap public companies and are the most favored foreign listing destinations for U.S. companies, with over 130 U.S. listings. Moreover, they are the world's leading markets for the mining, energy and cleantech, listing the highest number of companies in these sectors. Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, which are owned by TMX Group, are a dynamic source of North American capital for more than 3,800 companies that have a combined market capitalization of over $1.6 trillion USD.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by TMX Group CEO Tom Kloet; he will address the advantages offered by Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange for U.S. businesses. The keynote will be followed by remarks by Doug Samuelson, General Counsel and Director of Acro Energy Technologies Corp., and Lorne Abony, CEO of Fluid Music; they will discuss their experiences of listing on TSX Venture Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange respectively.
The event will also provide the opportunity for one-on-one sessions with campaign sponsors on cross-border legal, accounting and banking considerations.
Future U.S. Campaign Information Sessions
Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange will visit three additional cities as part of the 2009 U.S. Campaign.
To register, to view the campaign's launch webcast from earlier this year, and to find more information about future events, please visit www.tmx.com/usa.
| DATE | CITY |
| October 15, 2009 | Miami |
| October 28 and 29, 2009 | Phoenix |
| November 19, 2009 | Minneapolis |
Source: TMX Group
Speech by SEC Chairman:Opening Statement, Day One of the Securities Lending and Short Sale Roundtable-Chairman Mary L. Schapiro
September 30, 2009--Good morning.
Welcome to day one of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Securities Lending and Short Sale Roundtable. The Commission is grateful that so many have agreed to participate in today's meeting. I believe that I speak for my colleagues on the Commission in saying that we look forward to the panelists' comments, insights and recommendations on these two very important interconnected areas of the securities industry. Today’s focus will be securities lending.
Securities lending is the practice where an institution with a portfolio of investment securities temporarily lends out, on a collateralized basis, some of its portfolio securities that would otherwise be sitting idle. Securities lending has existed in some parts of the world since at least the 19th century, if not earlier. In the 1970s, securities lending increased in the U.S. as custodial banks lent out the portfolio securities of their custodial clients, and registered investment companies began lending their securities. In the 1990s and early 2000s, with the expansion of the global securities markets and investing, and the exponential increase in short selling and related strategies, the demand for securities lending also grew.
For a long time, securities lending was regarded and described as a relatively low risk venture, but the recent credit crisis revealed that it can be anything but low risk. This was particularly the case with cash collateral reinvestment programs which experienced unanticipated illiquidity and losses. Some institutions that lent their securities, and the beneficiaries relying on those institutions, were significantly harmed.
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Source: SEC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
September 30, 2009--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Wednesday, September 30, 2009:
The shares of IMA Exploration Inc. (TSXVN:IMR) will trade under the new name Kobex Minerals Inc. The new ticker symbol will be "KXM" and the new CUSIP number will be 49989C 10 5.
The capital of the company will be consolidated on a 1-for-2.4 basis.
The shares of Kobex Resources (TSXV:KBX) will be removed from the index. The shares of the company will be delisted from the Venture Exchange.
The shares of Ceres Capital Corp. (TSXV:SRS) will trade under the new name Reliable Energy Ltd. The new ticker symbol will be "REL" and the new CUSIP number will be 75942N 10 2. There is no consolidation of capital.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Source: Standard & Poors
PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio (PSP) Goes Global
September 30, 2009--Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that the PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio (PSP) will begin tracking the Global Listed Private Equity Index, and be renamed the PowerShares Global Listed Private Equity Portfolio. The fund will continue to be offered on the NYSE Arca under the existing ticker symbol PSP. The fund had previously tracked the Red Rocks Capital Listed Private Equity Index.
“The universe of publicly-listed private equity opportunities outside the United States is quite significant, and we are pleased to be broadening the scope of PSP to provide investors with a global exposure to this asset class,” said Ben Fulton, executive vice president global product development at Invesco PowerShares. “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Red Rocks Capital LLC, one of the world’s leading experts in private equity.”
“The PowerShares Global Listed Private Equity Portfolio (PSP) addresses the needs of investors building asset allocation models that seek to include the attributes of private equity, with the added benefit of daily liquidity provided by the ETF structure,” added Fulton.
“Private equity is an essential asset class as both emerging and developed economies require capital for growth, re-capitalization and innovative technologies,” said Mark Sunderhuse, founder and managing director at Red Rocks Capital LLC. “The Global Listed Private Equity Index represents private equity investments on a global scale. The direct holdings underlying the publicly traded securities within the Index provide exposure to more than 1,000 privately held businesses diversified by industry, geography, stage of investment, vintage year and capital structure.”
As of Sept. 30, 2009, the PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in securities, which may include ADRs and GDRs that comprise the Global Listed Private Equity Index. The index is designed to track the performance of a global group of private equity firms which are publicly traded on nationally recognized exchanges worldwide. The Index contains between 40 and 60 companies that invest in and lend capital to privately held businesses, representing a means of diversified exposure to private equity firms. The securities of the Index are selected and rebalanced quarterly per modified market capitalization weights.
Source: Invesco PowerShares
Deutsche Bank to Expand Holdings of Two Commodity-Linked Exchange Traded Funds
PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund and PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund will add 15 additional commodities by October 30, 2009
September 30, 2009--Deutsche Bank today announced it will increase the number of commodities tracked by the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSE:DBC) and the PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE:DBA). The additional commodities will diversify the funds’ exposures, reduce the funds’ holdings in Chicago Corn and Wheat, and satisfy position limits imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in those two commodities.
The changes are summarized as follows:
PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSE: DBC)
In addition to the six commodities it currently tracks, DBC will add Brent Crude, Copper Grade A, Natural Gas, RBOB Gasoline, Silver, Soybeans, Sugar, and Zinc.
PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE: DBA)
In addition to the four commodities it currently tracks, DBA will add Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Feeder Cattle, Kansas Wheat, Lean Hogs, and Live Cattle.
View filing for :
PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC) View filing for PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA)
STARBOARD files with SEC
The FMX Growth Allocation Fund seeks capital appreciation without regard to current income.
The FMX Total Return Fund seeks total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY
The Advisor seeks to achieve each Fund’s investment objective by investing primarily in no-load, institutional, and exchange-traded funds (“Portfolio Funds”). As of Wednesday, September 30th, 2009, the investment objectives for all Direxion Leveraged Index Funds have changed.
Direxion/s Monthly Leveraged Index Funds differ from daily leveraged index funds because they are rebalanced less frequently (12 times per year versus each trading day). While the effects of compounded returns over a multi-month period may still be substantial for the funds that seek monthly objectives, exposure levels will remain constant during intra-month periods. This means that an investor's level of exposure will remain the same from the day the investor purchases shares of a Fund through the end of that calendar month period. Please note, however, that even though an investor's level of exposure remains constant throughout a calendar month period, investors should still actively monitor their investment in the Funds. The Funds are riskier than other investments that do not use leverage because the Funds magnify the performance of the benchmark of an investment.
Grail's ETFs Take 'Active' Approach RP
Growth, RP Focused Large Cap Gronth, RP Technology and RP Financials. New
York-based River Park Advisors, assisted by Wedgewood Partners, will do the
day-to-day stock selection. RiverPark's involvement is notable because the firm's
principals are veterns of the traditional mutual-fund industry, being former executives and managers at Baron Funds. read full story
Source: Deutsche Bank
September 30, 2009--Starboard has filed a registration statement with the SCE for the FMX Funds.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
The Funds’ investment advisor is FolioMetrix, LLC (“FolioMetrix” or the “Advisor”).
September 30, 2009- All Direxion Leveraged Index Funds have modified their investment objectives, from seeking daily investment results to seeking monthly investment results. In addition, all funds which previously sought to achieve 250% or -250% of the performance of their index on a daily basis will now seek to achieve 200% or -200% of the performance of their index on a monthly basis.
Why Monthly-Leveraged Index Funds?
Source: Direxion Funds
September 30, 2009--A handful of ETFs set to launch Thursday will be run by traditional, kick-the-tires stock pickers, a group that has
had little involvement in these products. ETFs trade throughout the day on an exchange, and most track market
benchmarks.
Grail Advisors of San Francisco, is introducing the four actively managed ETFs:
Source: WSJ.com