Global ETF News Older than One Year
ETF growth sputters after markets' 'rocky ride' in 2018
January 11, 2019--Popular investment products still produced second-best year of sales.
Global inflows to exchange traded funds dropped by a fifth in 2018 after the first annual decline in the US stock market since the financial crisis dented investor appetite for lowcost index-trackers.
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council-Outlook 2019: Economic trends and their impact on gold
January 10, 2019--2018 ups and downs
Gold's price seesawed in 2018 as investor interest ebbed and flowed despite steady growth in most sectors of demand.
Gold faced significant headwinds for most of the year.
The dollar strengthened, the Fed continued to hike steadily while other central banks kept policy accommodative, and the US economy was lifted by the Trump administration's tax cuts. These factors fuelled positive investor sentiment which, in turn, pushed US stock prices higher, at least until the start of October.
But as geopolitical and macroeconomic risks continued to increase, emerging market stocks pulled back. Eventually, developed market stocks followed, in a selloff led by US tech companies. This resulted in short-covering in gold with its price ending the year near US$1,280/oz (-1% y-o-y).
Source: World Gold Council
Industry survey highlights need for renegotiation of Libor-based contracts
January 10, 2019--A survey conducted by JCRA, an independent financial risk management consultancy, and Travers Smith LLP, a full service City law firm, has found that a large majority of firms with exposure to Libor are yet to start making preparations for its discontinuation.
With the benchmark set to be withdrawn in 2021, most of the firms surveyed have not started negotiating replacement language in their contracts that reference Libor.
Source: derivsource.com
ESG Data: Mainstream Consumption, Bigger Spending
January 9, 2019--While sustainability and financial investments are not necessarily connected, socially responsible investment (SRI) emerged in capital markets over the past decade and is now a permanent fixture.
A growing awareness of environmental, social and corporate issues and their potential negative financial impact has led investors to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment process. Despite an inconsistency in the definition and heterogeneous regulations across the globe, the inclusion of ESG factors into the investment process is spreading beyond the once purely responsible investment sphere and is becoming a mainstream phenomenon. As a result, ESG data is increasingly in demand, and the market for it is growing fast, with numerous players entering the game.
Source: opimas.com
Study: High volatility significantly limits cryptocurrencies usefulness for portfolio diversification
January 9, 2019--Neither shocks to inflation expectations nor shocks to the yield curve significantly affect cryptocurrency market activity, according to new research.
Cryptocurrencies aren't really a traditional asset class since there's no significant relationship between the returns on cryptocurrencies and returns on traditional asset classes, according to new research.
There is a marginally significant correlation between the returns on cryptocurrencies and the returns on futures contracts on both gold and WTI crude oil, but cryptocurrencies' high volatility limits its usefulness for risk diversification and hedging.
Source: marketwatch.com
Volatility: how 'algos' changed the rhythm of the market
January 9, 2019--Critics say high-frequency trading makes markets too fickle amid rising anxiety over the global economy.
Philippe Jabre was the quintessential swashbuckling trader, slicing his way through markets first at GLG Partners and then an eponymous hedge fund he founded in 2007-at the time one of the industry's biggest-ever launches.
Source: FT.com
Hedge Funds Lost Almost 6% Last Year as Markets Roiled Managers
January 8, 2019--Equity hedge, CTA/managed futures led the declines in 2018
Funds slid 1.9% in December: Bloomberg Hedge Fund Database
Hedge funds posted a loss of 5.7 percent last year as managers struggled to capitalize on volatility and were roiled by political uncertainty.
For December, funds lost 1.9 percent, according to preliminary figures from the Bloomberg Hedge Fund Database.
Source: Bloomberg
Storm Clouds Are Brewing for the Global Economy
January 8, 2019--The outlook for the global economy in 2019 has darkened.
International trade and investment have softened. Trade tensions remain elevated. Several large emerging markets underwent substantial financial pressures last year.
Against this challenging backdrop, growth in emerging market and developing economies is expected to remain flat in 2019. The pickup in economies that rely heavily on commodity exports is likely to be much slower than hoped for. Growth in many other economies is anticipated to decelerate.
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Source: World Bank
U.S. Treasuries trading surged in December as front-end of yield curve inverted: Tradeweb
In early December, yields on two-year U.S. government bonds rose above three and five-year bond yields for the first time since 2008, reflecting concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown.
Source: Reuters
Vanguard keeps title of fastest-growing fund manager
Source: FT.com
January 7, 2019--Average daily trading volume in U.S. Treasuries surged over 40 percent in December from a year earlier to almost $83 billion as the front end of the yield curve inverted for the first time in a decade, trading platform Tradeweb said on Monday.
January 6, 2019--CEO Tim Buckley says zero-cost funds such as those offered by Fidelity are 'a gimmick'
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