EU states in preliminary deal on regulating market benchmarks-diplomats
February 4, 2015--A wider than anticipated range of market benchmarks will come under the European Union's regulatory net if a deal brokered among member states on Wednesday wins final approval, EU diplomats said.
New rules were proposed after banks were caught trying to rig hitherto unregulated interest rate and currency market benchmarks.
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Source: Reuters
ESMA's technical advice on possible delegated acts concerning the Market Abuse Regulation
February 3, 2015--This advice:
specifies the MAR market manipulation indicators, by providing examples of practices that may constitute market manipulation as well as proposing "additional" indicators of market manipulation;
recommends to set the minimum thresholds that exempt certain market participants in the emission allowance market from publicly disclosing inside information at six million tonnes of CO2eq per year and at 2,430 MW rated thermal input;
suggests the way to determine to which regulator delays in disclosure of inside information needs to be notified.
provides clarifications on the enhanced disclosure of managers’ transactions.-ESMA recommends disclosing any acquisition, disposal, subscription or exchange of financial instruments of the relevant issuer or related financial instruments carried out by managers,, further illustrated through a non-exhaustive list of types of transactions subject to this obligation.
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Source: ESMA
Pension funds should benefit from a further two year exemption from central clearing requirements
February 3, 2015--The European Commission has today published a report that recommends granting pension funds a two-year exemption from central clearing requirements for their over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions.
The report, which is based on an extensive study requested by the European Commission, concludes that central counterparties (CCPs) need this time to find solutions for pension funds. At the same time, the report encourages CCPs to continue working on finding technical solutions in this important matter. Ultimately, the objective is that pension scheme arrangements (PSAs) should use central clearing for their derivatives transactions, as is the case for other financial institutions. This is also imperative for financial stability.
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Source: European Commission
Irish ETFs set to exceed $500bn by 2020
Ireland already hosts some $250bn in exchange traded funds; growth will come from international investor demand
February 3, 2015--Irish domiciled exchange-traded funds are set to double to $500 billion by 2020, as new investors seek to integrate them into their portfolios and fund sponsors continue to introduce more products.
According to a report from PwC, Ireland is already host to some $250bn in ETF assets, but it has the potential to double this by 2020.
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Source: The Irish Times
Lyxor introduces Euro-hedged JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF
February 3, 2015--Lyxor, Europe's third largest provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch of the Lyxor UCITS ETF JPX-Nikkei 400 Daily Hedged C-EUR.
The fund, which has been listed on Euronext Paris, is the first currency-hedged ETF to track the innovative and widely followed JPX-Nikkei 400 Index.
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Source: etfstrategy.co.uk
Quality Equities for Europe in 2015
February 3, 2015--WisdomTree, an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") and exchange-traded product ("ETP") sponsor, and pioneer of dividend-weighted smart beta ETFs, today announced its outlook for 2015.
Viktor Nossek, Director of Research for WisdomTree Europe, had this to say:
Political uncertainty is the main risk in 2015 for European markets
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Source: Nasdaq.com
Fund managers await clarity on cost disclosure rules
February 3, 2015--European rules requiring greater disclosure of portfolio costs could apply to fund managers sooner than expected if regulators decide to clear up inconsistencies in existing sets of proposals.
As it stands, the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will require investment firms to disclose all costs, ranging from ongoing charges to research fees and detailed transaction costs, as of 3 January 2017.
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Source: Investment Week
SSgA in smart beta ETF push
February 3, 2015--State Street Global Advisors has expanded its range of smart beta exchange traded funds with the registration of four value-weighted ETFs in Ireland.
The four new ETFs, authorised by the Irish regulator in December, come as the smart beta sector is experiencing rapid growth.
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Source: FT.com
Turnover in the region of EUR 9.7 billion recorded by Boerse Stuttgart in January
2015 kicks off with a significant increase in trading activity -All asset classes post strong gains-Record month for equities and ETP trading
February 3, 2015--According to the order book statistics, turnover at Boerse Stuttgart for January 2015 amounted to EUR 9.7 billion.
This represented an increase of 41 percent in comparison with December, which was attributable to pronounced market movements. The trading volume in January was almost on a par with January 2014, when turnover was also strong.
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Source: Boerse Stuttgart
Assets held in UK tracker funds rocket by 23.5%
February 2, 2015--While the figures, especially at the higher-cost end, are likely to have been skewed by the advent of the RDR and the banning of commission, the huge inflows into equity funds with an OCF of less than 0.49 per cent showed a clear shift towards passive investing.
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Source: FTadviser.com
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