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ETF Securities launches base metals funds
Says to launch ETPs for all six major base metals
No launch date set yet
Deutsche says copper fund could hold 300,000-400,000t
October 11, 2010--UK-based ETF Securities said on Monday it would launch exchange-traded products for base metals, as it seeks to tap into a global market worth nearly $120 billion that has been dominated by investment in gold.
The new products will include copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel, lead and tin as well as a basket of all six major base metals, although no launch date has yet been set.
London Stock Exchange claims fastest trading speed
October 11, 2010--The race to have the fastest trading speed passed a new milestone on Monday after the London Stock Exchange said it was using the quickest share trading system in the world to drive one of its share dealing platforms.
Xavier Rolet, chief executive, said that trades in pan-European equities on its Turquoise trading platform were taking place in 124 microseconds, since the system went live last week. That is faster than Nasdaq OMX and double the average of the fastest speeds on platforms operated by BATS Global Markets.
Financial services: simplified rules on prospectuses for securities
October 11, 2010--The Council adopted today a directive aimed at simplifying rules on prospectuses for securities and on information about the issuers of transferable securities on financial markets, whilst at the same time upgrading investor protection (doc. 29/10).
The text, which amends directives 2003/71/EC and 2004/109/EC, is part of a legislative simplification plan agreed by the European Council in March 2007 with the aim of boosting the competitiveness of European companies by reducing administrative burdens that generate costs and inefficiencies.
The existing rules allow for a prospectus approved by the competent authority in one member state to be valid for public offers and the admission to trading of the relevant security within the entire EU. They have had a favourable impact on the quality of information made available to investors, and the Commission's assessment, five years after entry into force of those rules, is positive.
However, the Commission's review also revealed some deficiencies, and the new directive sets out to improve legal clarity and reduce the burdens imposed on issuers and intermediaries.
In particular, cost savings are expected to be generated by:
reducing disclosure requirements for companies with reduced market capitalisation;
the removal of rules leading to double transparency obligations;
exemption of employee shares schemes from the obligation to publish a prospectus;
reducing disclosure requirements for raising capital through rights issues;
excluding detailed information on the financial situation of the guarantor in the case of government guarantee schemes.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing goes live on Calastone to offer mutual fund STP choice.
October 11, 2010--Calastone, the independent cross-border transaction network for the mutual funds industry, has today announced that BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, the global leader in securities servicing, has gone live with its connection to the network to offer full mutual fund processing STP for its UTAS mutual fund clients.
BNY Mellon provides a comprehensive range of services for its mutual fund clients. In recognition of the market appetite for greater automation and mutual fund processing efficiency, connecting to Calastone’s transaction network will enable the end clients to reap STP efficiencies and benefit from connectivity to Calastone’s fast growing global mutual fund community in addition to the efficiencies that will be provided by their settlement offering.
Calastone’s independent cross-border transaction network services provides electronic message automation to help clients improve their account opening, re-registration, creation and liquidation, switching, settlement, reconciliation, cash reporting or any associated funds messaging processes. Calastone is the only protocol and message neutral transaction network where the global fund industry can meet to electronically transact their mutual funds with its growing community of fund providers, distributors, wrap platforms, wealth managers, stockbrokers, transfer agents, hedge funds and pension funds.
Investor enthusiasm leads to early closure of third bond subscription in a row
Nabaltec AG bond issue met with high level of demand / Many retail investors keen to subscribe to SME bond at issue price
October 11, 2010--Subscription for the fifth corporate bond to be listed in Bondm, Boerse Stuttgart’s dedicated SME trading segment, started on 5 October via buy orders of investors’ banks or the issuer’s website. However, demand for the Nabaltec AG bond, which comes with a 6.5 percent coupon, was so high that by today the entire issue of EUR 30 million was fully subscribed, four days before the planned closing date.
That makes Nabaltec’s bond offer the third issue in a row to close early. Bids were scaled down and subscriptions ended at 2 p.m. on 8 October. The bonds are due to be listed in the SME segment Bondm from 12 October.
“Naturally, we are delighted by the huge level of demand for the issue. Those investors who were unable to acquire the bond during the subscription period can do so from next Tuesday onwards in our Bondm segment. We are also planning another attractive SME bond issue in the near future,” observed Sabine Traub, Head of Bond Trading at Boerse Stuttgart.
Newly launched VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index licenses to Barclays Capital
October 11, 2010--STOXX Limited, a global index provider and creator of the leading European equity indices, today announced the launch of the EURO STOXX 50 Volatility Mid-Term Futures Index (VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index). The new index is an addition to the existing VSTOXX Short-Term Futures Index. Both indices measure the performance of a hypothetical, rolling portfolio invested into constant maturity implied volatilities on the underlying EURO STOXX 50 Index.
The VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index has been licensed to Barclays Capital to underlie an exchange-traded note (ETN).
“The VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index is the latest addition to our range of innovative and complex strategy indices,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Ltd. “With a rising interest in volatility as an asset class of its own, the new index complements the existing VSTOXX Short-Term Futures Index. We are now offering market participants an opportunity to also measure the return from rolling long positions in the mid-term EUREX VSTOXX futures contracts through a sophisticated and rules-based index.”
“The launch of the second investible VSTOXX Futures Index complements the existing VSTOXX offering by providing access to longer dated volatility exposure, which typically exhibits lower carry costs in stable markets," said Antti Suhonen, head of origination, Equity and Fund Structured Markets (EFS) at Barclays Capital. "It therefore could be suited for buy-and-hold investors wishing to allocate part of their portfolio to an asset class which may deliver positive returns in times of market distress. Barclays Capital will soon offer direct access to the index in a simple and transparent format through an iPath ETN.”
The VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index replicates a hypothetical portfolio which measures the returns from a rolling investment made into four VSTOXX futures contracts traded on EUREX with a remaining maturity of four, five, six and seven months.
At the beginning of the futures contracts’ maturity, the weight of the index is allocated in equal parts to the fourth, fifth and sixth month contracts. The index then rolls from the fourth month futures contract into the seventh month futures contract. On a daily basis a fraction of the fourth month contract is sold and an equal notional amount of the seventh month contract is bought until the next settlement date, at which the index roll is complete and the fourth month EUREX VSTOXX futures contract is settled. On the EUREX VSTOXX futures settlement date, all of the weight is allocated to the fifth, sixth and seventh month futures contract. At this point, the remaining maturity of the fifth month contract is four months, therefore it becomes the new fourth month contract, and the index is gradually rolled into a new futures contract with a seven month maturity. During the roll period, the weight allocated to the fifth and sixth month futures contracts are not being changed.
The VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index is available in excess and total return versions. In the total return version of the index, the investment into the futures contracts is fully collateralized by a daily investment into the EONIA market (Euro Over Night Index Average). The interest earned from this collateralization is re-invested into the portfolio on a daily basis.
The VSTOXX Mid-Term Futures Index is part of the STOXX Strategy Index family. Further information on the STOXX Strategy Indices is available at www.stoxx.com.
ETF Securities confirms preparation of physically backed industrial metal ETCs
October 11, 2010--In response to recent discussions in the press and the market following publication by the London Metal Exchange (LME) that ETF Securities has opened a metal account at the LME, ETF Securities wishes to confirm it is preparing to launch a range of physically backed industrial metal exchange traded commodities (ETCs), subject to approval from relevant regulators and the London Stock Exchange. The industrial metal range of ETCs will include physical aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc, as well as a basket consisting of all six metals.
It is proposed that applications and redemptions by market-makers will be made against delivery of LME Warrants1. The LME allows for cash trading and offers hedging, worldwide reference pricing and physical settlement.
The industrial metal backing each product will be stored in LME-approved warehouses. Deutsche Bank A.G., London Branch will provide trading, administrative and custody services relating to the industrial metal and the product generally.
Commenting on the proposed new physical industrial metal ETCs, Graham Tuckwell, Chairman and CEO of ETF Securities said:
"We continue to see strong demand for industrial metals and investors have often asked us to provide a product that is priced off and backed by physical metal. This new platform is intended to provide investors with exposure to physical industrial metal without the need to purchase and store such metal directly. We believe that our proposed product structure and the use of LME Warrants will provide secure and transparent access to the physical metals market. These products will complement our existing offerings which are priced off futures prices rather than cash market prices."
Further information on the products will be published in due course, subject to approval from relevant regulators and the London Stock Exchange.
New Practices in the Istanbul Stock Exchange Stock Market
October 8, 2010-- Trading party member codes included in inquiries of transactions executed in the Stock Market shall not be displayed, whereas executed transactions shall be sent to the data vendors without buyer and seller information, starting from October 8, 2010. Trading books including member codes will be available for the ISE members at the end of day T+1.
Order cancellation shall be unconditionally allowed in the ISE Stock Market, effective from October 8, 2010. Henceforth, orders pending in the Stock Market Trading System may be cancelled one by one, on order basis, in full or in part. This new arrangement however, does not hold for the quotation orders entered for the securities traded with market making method on the Collective Products Market and the Warrants Market. The ISE will charge a fee equal to 0.025 basis points (2.5 millionths) of the TL amount of the cancelled orders.
Stock Market price ticks will start to be reduced gradually on November 1, 2010.
read more SIX Swiss Exchange launches new product segment for Exchange Traded Products (ETPs)
The Additional Rules for the Listing of Exchange Traded Products enter into force on 15 October 2010. The first products in this new segment are expected to appear during November 2010 at SIX Swiss Exchange. In order to ensure continuous, liquid trading on the Exchange, at least one market maker will be appointed for each product. SIX Swiss Exchange is providing an efficient trading platform and the requisite market controls. ETPs are not investment funds and are thus not governed by the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA). They are subject to a standard listing procedure overseen by SIX Exchange Regulation. The rules pertaining to the admission of ETPs and maintaining their listing have been drafted by the SIX Swiss Exchange Regulatory Board and approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. Deutsche Börse: HSBC joins XTF segment as new ETF issuer “By listing our ETF range in Germany, we are expanding our existing offering and thus meeting the increasing demand from institutional and private investors and from wealth management,” said Heiner Weber, member of the Management Board of HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH.
Six of the HSBC ETFs soon to be tradable on Xetra will enable investors to participate in the performance of companies from the following countries and regions of the MSCI index family: Brazil, Japan, USA, Europe, emerging markets from the Far East and the pacific-ex Japan.
HSBC ETFs will also soon be tradable on Xetra on the S&P 500 and EURO STOXX 50 indices. The HSBC ETF S&P 500 enables investors to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index, which comprises the 500 largest US stock corporations. The HSBC EURO STOXX 50 ETF allows investment in the performance of the 50 largest companies from twelve euro zone countries.
The table attached shows the new HSBC ETFs in Xetra, their ISIN, management fees and expected trading start on Xetra.
SIX Swiss Exchange paves way for broader choice of exchange-traded products and further growth.
October 8, 2010--In drafting a new regulatory standard, SIX Swiss Exchange has completed the groundwork for launching a new segment for Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). SIX Swiss Exchange is thus promoting product diversity and enabling issuers to offer investors innovative solutions.
Exchange Traded Products are collateralized, non-interest-bearing bearer debt securities. They track the performance of an underlying asset either with or without leverage.
HSBC equity index ETF tradable on Xetra since Friday/ Eight more HSBC ETFs to join by mid October
October 8, 2010-- The first exchange-traded index fund issued by HSBC ETFS has been tradable on Xetra since Friday.
“Deutsche Börse welcomes HSBC as a new issuer on the first and largest ETF trading platform in Europe. We are delighted to be expanding the offering in our XTF segment to 720 products today thanks to HSBC,” said Rainer Riess, Managing Director at Deutsche Börse.
The first HSBC equity index fund tradable on Xetra, the HSBC FTSE 100 ETF (ISIN: DE000A1C0BC5), allows investors to participate in the performance of the 100 largest and best-performing companies based in the UK.
