ETF Landscape: European DJ STOXX 600 Sector ETF Net Flows, week ending 18-Sep-09
September 23, 2009--Last week saw US$270.6 Mn net inflows to DJ STOXX 600 sector ETFs.
The largest sector ETF inflows last week were in Banks with US$73.8 Mn and Health Care with US$44.0 Mn while Chemicals experienced net outflows of US$7.5 Mn.
Year-to-date, Banks has been the most popular sector with US$207.5 Mn net new assets, followed by Utilities with US$205.6 Mn net inflows. Retail sector ETFs have been the least popular with US$62.7 Mn net outflows YTD.
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Source: ETF Research and Implementation Strategy, BGI
ETF Securities gold, palladium holdings hit record
September 23, 2009-- ETF Securities said on Wednesday that the amount of metal it holds to back its gold and ETFS Physical Palladium (PHPD.L) exchange-traded commodities rose to record highs in the week to Sept. 22.
The company's three gold-backed ETCs -- Gold Bullion Securities (GBSx.L), ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU.L) and a small Australian fund -- held 8.367 million ounces of bullion as of Tuesday, up from 8.217 million ounces a week before.
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Source: Reuters
CESR updates the list of measures recently taken by Members regarding short-selling
September 22, 2009--CESR published on a statement today that facilitates an overview of actions taken by CESR Members in relation to short-selling. The statement paper includes either the statements or links to the statements published by CESR Members explaining the measures taken. This paper is not a comparison of the measures taken.
CESR updates the list of measures recently taken by Members regarding short-selling. The documents will be updated on a continuous basis; the latest update has been provided by the Austrian supervisor FMA.
Further information can be found in the statement published today.
Source: The Committee of European Securities Regulators
EEX/Eurex Launch New Emission Rights Contracts
September 22, 2009--The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and Eurex are expanding the offering of futures on emission rights. Pending approval of the EEX Exchange Council, the new futures will be launched as of 27 October 2009. The partners will be offering new EUA (European Emission Allowance) and CER (Certified Emission Reductions) futures with a different maturity and delivery date, in addition to the contracts already offered.
These new contracts are tailored even more closely to the requirements of market participants. EUA and CER futures currently mature on the last exchange trading day in November every year, with delivery on the first exchange trading day in December. In future, there will also be an EUA and a CER futures contract each of which matures in mid-December instead. The product extension is of particular advantage to market participants that are active on several CO2 exchanges and have until now had to take various delivery dates into account.
The existing contracts will continue to be listed, giving market participants a choice of delivery periods. Market makers have already indicated their support for the new contracts and expect liquidity to build up primarily in these contracts. EEX and Eurex are offering their clients a transfer of existing positions into the new contracts free of charge to boost liquidity.
EEX and Eurex provide a platform for trading EUA futures, options on EUA futures, and CER futures for the 2008-2012 Kyoto phase. This cooperation which started in December 2007 allows Eurex participants to trade CO2 products which are listed on the EEX via their existing infrastructure and a simplified admission process.
Source: EUREX
Ten new EasyETFs launched on Xetra
September 22, 2009--BNP Paribas Asset Management has listed ten new EasyETFs in the XTF segment
on Xetra®. The new EasyETFs enable investors not only to replicate the
performance of companies from Europe, the euro zone and the USA but also to invest in the euro money market.
The four EasyETFs based on the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 and Dow Jones STOXX 50 indices allow investors to decide whether they track the two indices as a performance index or a price index. In the case of a performance index, income is reinvested in the index and not distributed to investors, whereas a price index pays an annual dividend. The EasyETF EURO STOXX 50 Double Short enables investors to replicate the inverse performance of the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 with a leverage factor of two.
The EasyETF Dow Jones STOXX 600 allows investors to track the performance of 600 high, mid and low caps from 18 European countries based on total returns. The EasyETF Dow Jones STOXX 600 Double Short offers the inverse performance of the underlying index leveraged by a factor of two.
The EasyETF S&P 100 allows investors to benefit for the first time from the performance of the top 100 US companies listed on the S&P 500 Index. The weighting is based on market capitalization. In addition, investors can cover 90 percent of the market capitalization of the US equity markets with the EasyETF Russell 1000.
Another EasyETF, the EasyETF EuroMTS EONIA, allows investors to track the euro money market. The EuroMTS EONIA is based on the effective overnight lending rate set by the European Central Bank.
The product offering on Xetra in the XTF segment currently comprises a total of 496 exchange-traded index funds, making it the largest offering of all European stock exchanges. This selection, together with an average monthly trading volume of around €10 billion, makes Deutsche Börse’s XTF segment Europe’s leading trading venue for ETFs.
view list of new funds
Source: Deutsche Börse
London Stock Exchange-ETF Statistics August 2009
September 22, 2009--The London Stock Exchange ETF Statistics for August 2009
are available. view report
Source: London Stock Exchange
Enthusiasm Builds for Financial Tax Idea
September 21, 2009--No longer just a hopeless cause for anti-capitalist activists, the idea of a global tax on financial transactions is gaining ground in Europe.
European Union leaders could not agree to put it on the agenda this week of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Pittsburgh on changing the financial system, but the leaders of France, Germany and the European Commission endorsed the concept.
More strikingly, the head of the British Financial Services Authority, which regulates the world’s second biggest banking center after New York, said last month that such a levy could help shrink a swollen financial sector. “If increased capital requirements are insufficient I am happy to consider taxes on financial transactions — ‘Tobin taxes,”’ the F.S.A. chairman, Adair Turner, told Prospect magazine.
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Source: NY Times
EU-Regulation of finance
September 21 2009--Three pan-European supervisory agencies will draw up and help enforce a common rulebook for banks, insurers and securities markets under laws to be unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday.
Currently, three committees exist at the EU level in the financial services sector, with advisory powers, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Committee (CEIOPS) and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR).
These are often known as the “Lamfalussy level 3 Committees” because of the role which they play in the EU framework for financial services legislation, created following a report by a group chaired by Alexandre Lamfalussy.
In January 2009 the Commission took action to strengthen the powers of these committees and proposed a financial instrument giving them a secure financial basis for their work.
In February 2009 a report by a high-level group chaired by J. de Larosière recommended transforming the three Committees into European Authorities, with commensurately increased powers to, inter alia:
co-ordinate the work of national supervisors,
arbitrate between national supervisors in supervisory colleges in cases of disagreement on supervisory issues regarding a cross-border financial institution;
take steps to harmonise national regulatory rules and move towards a common European rulebook;
directly supervise certain pan-European institutions which are regulated at EU level, such as Credit Rating Agencies.
On 27 May 2009 the Commission adopted a Communication describing its plans for putting into effect the recommendations of the de Larosière report.
This will be followed by legislative proposals in the autumn.
Source: Various
ISE faces test from Turkey’s trading past
September 21, 2009--Istanbul is Turkey’s undisputed commercial centre for most businesses. But its stock exchange is battling against a challenger from the second city of Izmir, a port with a tradition of commodity exchanges from its mercantile past.
The new rival - founded in 2001 - is the derivatives exchange Turkdex, where trading volumes reached TL415bn ($282bn) in 2008, close to volumes on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Futures contracts on the ISE’s two main equity indices, the ISE 100 and ISE 30, make up the bulk of Turkdex’s business.
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Source: The Penisula
EU rules would see hedge funds go oversea
September 21, 2009--Nearly half of the UK’s hedge funds are likely to move abroad if new EU regulations are passed, according to a comprehensive new study of the alternative asset management industry due to be released on Monday.
The findings – based on a survey of 121 managers, looking after $384bn (£236bn, €261bn) of client assets, the bulk of the European industry – come as UK and American politicians step up their efforts to modify the EU’s controversial draft alternative investment fund manager directive.
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Source: FT.com