Global ETF News Older than One Year
Research reveals poor understanding of blockchain amongst senior business executives
January 22, 2019--Despite this, institutional investors expect companies to dramatically increase their investment in this technology over the next few years
Banking/ finance is widely seen as the sector that will be transformed the most by blockchain
39% of investors believe the impact of blockchain on banking could be as big as that of the internet on the media
New research amongst institutional investors from the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)-the leading association for the blockchain ecosystem-reveals 63% believe senior executives at large established businesses have a poor understanding of blockchain. Only 7% described their understanding as 'good', with the remainder describing it as 'average'.
Source: coingeek.com
AI to outperform human credit decisions by 2024-survey
January 22, 2019--Artificial intelligence (AI) will produce more accurate, reliable and transparent credit decisions than human-based systems within five years, according to capital markets professionals surveyed by Intertrust.
Intertrust, a global leader in providing expert administrative services to clients operating and investing in the international business environment, surveyed over 500 capital markets executives to identify the impact that disruptive technology is having on jobs and skills.
Of these, one in six (14%) believe that AI has already surpassed human-based systems.
Source: finextra.com
The World Federation of Exchanges publishes second report on factors that drive international investor participation in emerging markets
January 21, 2019--The World Federation of Exchanges ("WFE"), the global industry group for exchanges and CCPs, has today published a report-from the investor viewpoint-that seeks to understand what encourages or discourages international investor participation in emerging markets.
The purpose of today's research report, written with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is to provide exchange operators, securities regulators and policy-makers with greater insight into the factors that drive investment decisions, as reported by investors themselves.
view the 'Attracting international investors to emerging markets' report
Source: World Federation of Exchanges
BlackRock and Vanguard assets plummet most in a decade
January 21, 2019--Industry leaders see total of $700bn wiped from AUM in fourth quarter
Market volatility sucked hundreds of billions of dollars from the world's largest fund managers last month, with the two industry leaders reporting significant annual declines in assets for the time since the financial crisis.
Source: FT.com
IMF-World Economic Outlook Update, January 2019-A Weakening Global Expansion
January 21, 2019--The global expansion has weakened. Global growth for 2018 is estimated at 3.7 percent, as in the October 2018 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast, despite weaker performance in some economies, notably Europe and Asia. The global economy is projected to grow at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point below last October's projections.
The global growth forecast for 2019 and 2020 had already been revised downward in the last WEO, partly because of the negative effects of tariff increases enacted in the United States and China earlier that year. The further downward revision since October in part reflects carry over from softer momentum in the second half of 2018-including in Germany following the introduction of new automobile fuel emission standards and in Italy where concerns about sovereign and financial risks have weighed on domestic demand—but also weakening financial market sentiment as well as a contraction in Turkey now projected to be deeper than anticipated.
Source: IMF
Beyond the doomsday economics of "proof-of-work" in cryptocurrencies
January 21, 2019--Summary
Focus
The paper focuses on how Bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies verify that payments are final, ie irreversible once written into the blockchain. It points to the high costs of achieving such finality via "proof-of-work". It then weighs the outlook for cryptocurrencies based on this kind of algorithm, and looks at possible future avenues for progress.
Contribution
The paper shows that two economic limitations affect the outlook of cryptocurrencies modelled on proof-of-work. The first lies in the extreme costs of ensuring payment finality in a reasonable space of time. The second is that these systems will not be able to generate transaction fees that are adequate to guarantee payment security in future.
view the BIS Working Papers-Beyond the doomsday economics of "proof-of-work" in cryptocurrencies
Source: BIS
IOSCO Statement on Disclosure of ESG Matters by Issuers
January 18, 2019--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is today publishing a statement setting out the importance for issuers of considering the inclusion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters when disclosing information material to investors' decisions.
I. Introduction
As underlined by IOSCO in its Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation,2 securities regulation has three key objectives: protecting investors, ensuring that markets are fair, efficient, and transparent, and reducing systemic risk. IOSCO Principle 16 states that issuers should provide "full, accurate, and timely disclosure of financial results, risk, and other information which is material to investors’ decisions." With regard to this Principle, IOSCO emphasizes that ESG matters, though sometimes characterized as non-financial, may have a material short-term and long-term impact on the business operations of the issuers as well as on risks and returns for investors and their investment and voting decisions.
Source: IOSCO
Hedge fund outflows were worst in 2 years last quarter
January 18, 2019--2018 was first year the industry contracted since the financial crisis
Source: FT.com
Interactive Brokers to Offer CFRA's Equity, ETF, and Mutual FundResearch to Investors on Its Platform
January 17, 2019--CFRA, one of the world's largest providers of independent research, announced today that it has teamed with the award-winning online brokerage firm InteractiveBrokers to give investors access to CFRA's world-class equity, ETF, and mutual fund research through the Investors' Marketplace platform.
CFRA provides research on more than 1,400 ETFs and 22,000 mutual fundshare classes, and its analytical team reports on more than 1,500 globalcompanies using its proprietary STARS recommendations
Source: CFRA
Basel Committee completes review of Principles for sound liquidity risk management and supervision
January 17, 2019--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has completed a review of its 2008 Principles for sound liquidity risk management and supervision. The review confirmed that the Sound Principles remain fit for purpose, and the Committee advises banks and supervisors to remain vigilant of liquidity risks in financial markets.
The Sound Principles underscore the importance for banks of establishing a robust liquidity risk management framework. As implementation of all its standards and guidelines is a high priority for the Committee, a review of the Sound Principles was initiated in 2017. The review also covered liquidity risk-related developments in financial markets since 2008.
Source: BIS
