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DB-Equity Research-US ETF Market Monthly Review : ETP assets grew by 11.2% in H1 2012 with inflows of $72bn
July 5, 2012--US ETP assets recovered 3.7% MoM in June, back above 10% YTD
ETP assets in the US rose by $41.4bn to $1.16 trillion last month, boosting AUM growth back to the double-digit territory (11.2%) in the first half of the year.
Global ETP industry assets rose to $1.59 trillion, or 10.5% up YTD.
Mixed trends suggest range-bound market
US ETP flows experienced inflows of $12.1bn during June (+$72.3bn, 6.9% of last year’s AUM).
Within long-only ETPs, total flows were +$11.6bn in June vs. +$5.0bn in May.
Equity, Fixed Income, and Commodity long-only ETPs experienced cash flows of +$5.1bn, +$5.1bn, and +$1.5bn, respectively.
June turned out to be a very fluid month for risky assets as the European Sovereigns continued to muddle through the financial crisis and US economic data continued to disappoint. However, things become less pessimistic towards the end of the month and the bottom line turned positive for risky assets.
A closer look at the new equity and fixed income allocations, however, suggest that investors have been rather cautious and have not displayed clear signs of a new trend yet, either bullish or bearish. For example, equity allocations favored safer bets such as relatively stronger economies (e.g. the US), and diversified regional exposures (e.g. broad EM and DM ex US) rather than country allocations. In the meantime, new fixed income flows were concentrated on corporate debt products, but heavily inclined to the investment grade segment. And on the commodity space, flows were mixed between safe-haven (e.g. precious metals) and growth-driven (e.g. energy) sectors.
Some of the relevant flow trends of the month were: (1) US equity (+$4.0bn), (2) Investment Grade debt (+$3.3bn), and (3) Corporate debt (+$3.3bn).
New Launch Calendar: expanding investors toolbox
There were 10 new ETPs and 1 new ETN listed during the previous month. All of the products were listed in the NYSE Arca. The new products cover multiple asset classes such as equity, fixed income, Commodity, and Currency
Floor activity dropped by 10% driven by receding volatility
Total monthly turnover dropped by 10.1% to $1.31 trillion vs. $1.46 trillion in the previous month.
US ETP trading made up 29.5% of all US cash equity trading in June, down from both its August 2011 peak of 37.5% and its 3-year monthly average of 30.0%.
The largest drop was on Equity ETP turnover, which fell by $144bn or 11.1% to $1.15 trillion, followed by Commodity products turnover which shrank by $3.6bn, totaling $68bn for the month of June. Meanwhile, Fixed Income ETP turnover slightly rose by $0.8bn to $82bn last month.
to request report
Source: Deutsche Bank-Equity Research-North America
Canada's top regulators approve TMX takeover
July 4, 2012--Canada's top regulators on Wednesday approved the takeover of the country's biggest stock exchange operator by a group of Canadian financial firms, pushing a protracted process tantalizingly close to the finish line.
The Ontario Securities Commission and Canada's Competition Bureau approved the takeover of TMX Group by Maple Group - a consortium of Canada's largest banks, insurers and pension funds - removing two big hurdles to a deal that now needs only the approval of two provincial regulators.
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Source: Reuters
ETF Industry Association Releases June 2012 ETF Data Reports
July 3, 2012--Some of the key highlights from the June 2012 ETF Data report include:
Assets in US listed Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and Exchange Traded Notes (ETN) totaled approximately $1.18 trillion at June 2012 month-end, an increase of 7% over June 2011 month-end, when assets totaled $1.11 trillion.
ETF/ETN net cash inflows totaled approximately $12.9 billion for the month of June 2012, bringing year-to-date net cash inflows to $75.9 billion.
At June 2012 month-end, there were 1,476 U.S. listed products, an increase of 15% compared to the 1,288 U.S. listed products at the same time last year. Fixed Income once again led all categories for June with $4.8 billion in net inflows bringing the YTD total to over $35.1 billion.
Visit www.etf-ia.com for more info.
Source: ETF Industry Association
CFTC Issues Final Order Amending the Effective Date for Swap Regulation Order Issued on July 14, 2011
July 3, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued a final Order regarding the effective date for swap regulation.
On May 16, 2012, the Commission published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Amendment to extend the temporary exemptive relief the Commission granted on July 14, 2011, from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act that otherwise would have taken effect on the general effective date of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – July 16, 2011.
view the Federal Register: Second Amendment to July 14, 2011 Order for Swap Regulation
Source: CFTC.gov
North American index investors highlight concerns with cap-weighting size biases but do not wish to replace cap-weighted indices
July 3, 2012--In its first EDHEC-Risk North American Index Survey, a survey of 139 investment professionals (institutional investors, asset managers, private wealth managers, investment banks and brokerage firms), EDHEC-Risk Institute has analysed the current uses of and opinions on stock, bond and volatility indices in the North American region.
Key findings of the survey
Size biases associated with cap-weighted indices are perceived as a very important issue by North American investors – nearly 100% of respondents see it as important to very important, in contrast to only 71% of European investors.
Cap-weighted indices – despite the fact that their shortcomings are widely acknowledged by respondents – are likely to remain the reference for equity portfolios for some time to come. Only a minority of respondents (23%) see alternative indices as a means of replacing cap-weighted indices. The majority see such indices as complements to cap-weighted indices or as replacement options for active managers (58.6% and 27.6%, respectively).
Investors have quite different objectives when it comes to different asset classes. Investors tend to resort to government bond indices as hedging tools for risk exposure (57% for government bond indices versus only 33.7% for corporate bond indices), while corporate bond indices are seen more as tools for achieving higher returns (33.7% for corporate bond indices and 25% for government bond indices). Indices that reflect risk factors are perceived to be of relatively little importance within equity portfolios, while indices categorised by interest rate risk and credit risk are seen as crucial within fixed-income portfolios.
view the EDHEC-Risk North American Index Survey 2011
Source: EDHEC
Morgan Stanley-US ETF Weekly Update
July 2, 2012--Weekly Flows: $23 Million Net Outflows
ETFs Have Generated $71.5 Billion Net Inflows YTD
ETF Assets Stand at $1.2 Trillion, up 11% YTD
Two ETF Launches Last Week
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
ETFs posted modest net outflows of $23 mln last week, 2nd consecutive week of net outflows
Last week’s outflows were primarily driven by US Cap Focused Equity ETFs (combined $1.1 bln in net outflows)
ETF assets stand at $1.2 tln, up 11% YTD; ETFs have posted net inflows 19 out of 26 weeks YTD
ETFs have taken in $71.5 bln in net inflows, +26% YOY through the first six months of 2012
Vanguard has taken in the most new money YTD ($29.4 bln in net inflows)
13-week flows were mixed among asset classes; combined $19.9 bln net inflows
Fixed Income ETFs have consistently generated weekly net inflows (46 straight weeks of net inflows totaling $57.7 bln)
Emerging Market Equity ETFs exhibited net outflows of $3.3 bln the past 13 weeks, the most of any ETF category
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) generated net inflows of $351 mln last week, the most of any ETF
PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) exhibited net outflows of $703 mln last week, the largest net outflow of any ETF; similarly, QQQ’s 13-
week flows were weak at $2.1 bln net outflows
Over the past 13 weeks, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund (LQD) posted net inflows of $2.6 bln, the most of any ETF as investors have flocked to the relatively attractive yield and safety of investment grade corporate bonds
US-Listed ETFs: Short Interest
Data Updated: Based on data as of 6/15/12
iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM) posted the largest increase in USD short interest
Aggregate ETF USD short interest declined $9.5 bln over the past two weeks ended 6/15/12
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) short interest declined $6.6 bln last period; SPY’s 244.8 mln shares short is its lowest level since 1/14/11
The average shares short/shares outstanding for ETFs is currently 5%
Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) shares short as a % of shares outstanding increased to 607% from 263% from the prior period;
despite the change, we would not draw many conclusions from the large jump given RTH’s small market cap ($20 mln)
Based on multiple borrowings and the ability to continuously create new shares, shares short as a % of shares outstanding can exceed 100% (only nine ETFs exhibited shares short as a % of shares outstanding greater than 100%)
US-Listed ETFs: Most Successful Recent Launches by Assets
Source: Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Research. Data estimated as of 6/29/12 based on daily change in share counts and daily NAVs.
$7.1 billion in total market cap of ETFs less than 1-year old
Over the past 13 weeks, newly launched Active ETFs generated most net inflows at $1.4 bln (specifically the PIMCO Total Return ETF-BOND)
110 new ETF listings and 17 closures YTD
Over the past year, many of the successful launches have an income/dividend orientation
Five different ETF sponsors and three asset classes represented in top 10 most successful launches
BlackRock has launched 51 ETFs over the past year, the most of any ETF sponsor
Top 10 most successful launches account for 65% of market cap of ETFs launched over the past year (up from 53% at the beginning of the year)
request report
Source: Morgan Stanley
ISE Files for Second Exchange License
New options exchange to offer market structure and pricing flexibility Exchange will run on ISE's existing Optimise™ technology platform Member firms will be able to use existing connectivity to ISE to access the second exchange Anticipated launch by the end of 2012
July 2, 2012- The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced that it has filed a Form 1 application for a second exchange license with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ISE plans to launch its second options exchange platform by the end of 2012, pending SEC approval.
“Having a second exchange license will enhance ISE’s flexibility to meet the evolving needs of our members in a highly competitive environment,” said Gary Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISE. “Our Optimise technology platform was designed to support multiple markets and will enable our member firms to leverage their existing connectivity for our new exchange as well as to benefit from Optimise’s superior technology and functionality.”
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
ISE Reports Business Activity for June 2012
July 2, 2012--ISE was the second largest equity options exchange in June with market share of 18.1%, excluding dividend trades.
Dividend trades made up 3.8% of industry volume in June 2012.
The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today reported average daily volume of 2.5 million contracts
in June 2012. This represents a decrease of 10.2% compared to June 2011.
Total options volume for the month was 52.2 million contracts. ISE was the second largest U.S. equity options exchange in June with market share of 18.1%*.
Business highlights for the month of June include:
On June 29, 2012, ISE filed a Form 1 application for a second exchange license with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ISE plans to launch its second options exchange platform by the end of 2012, pending SEC approval.
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
CBOE Holdings Reports June 2012 Trading Volume
June Average Daily Volume Up 2% from Year Ago, Down 7% from May 2012
July 2, 2012--CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) today reported that June 2012 trading volume for options on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and C2 Options Exchange (C2), combined,totaled 96.7 million contracts.
June average daily volume (ADV) was 4.6 million contracts, a two percent increase from June 2011 ADV of 4.5 million contracts and a seven-percent decline from May 2012 ADV of 5.0 million contracts.
CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) and the exchange's flagship product, futures on the CBOE Volatility Index (the VIX Index), posted back-to-back monthly records in June 2012 and surpassed the two-million contract benchmark for the second straight month.
CBOE Trading Volume and Market Share
CBOE trading volume — CBOE's June 2012 ADV was 4.41 million contracts, up two percent from 4.31 million contracts ADV in June 2011 and down seven percent from May 2012 ADV of 4.74 million contracts.
CBOE index options -June 2012 index option ADV was 1.25 million contracts, down four percent from 1.30 million contracts ADV in June 2011 and down seven percent from May 2012 ADV of 1.34 million contracts.
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Source: CBOE
CFTC Approves Phased Compliance Proposal for Certain Swap Regulations
June 29, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) today voted to propose a phased compliance program regarding certain swaps to non-U.S. swap dealers, non-U.S. major swap participants, U.S. swap dealers, U.S. major swap participants, and foreign branches of U.S. swap dealers and U.S. major swap participants.
In order to ensure an orderly transition to the Dodd-Frank Act the Commission released for public comment a phased compliance regarding certain entity-level requirements (Entity-Level Requirements) and transaction-level requirements (Transaction-Level Requirements) subject in each case to specified conditions. The vote was conducted via a seriatim vote of the commission and was passed by a vote of 5 to 0. The Comment period is open for 30 days after the publication in the Federal Register.
Background
The proposed phased compliance would become effective on the compliance date for registration of swap dealers and major swap participants and expire: (i) for non-U.S. swap dealers, non-U.S. major swap participants, foreign branches of U.S. swap dealers, and foreign branches of U.S. major swap participants, 12 months following the publication of the proposal; and (ii) for U.S. swap dealers and U.S. major swap participants, January 1, 2013.
view the Federal Register: Exemptive Order Regarding Compliance with Certain Swap Regulations
Source: CFTC.gov