Global ETF News Older than One Year
IMF-Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia November 2018
November 6, 2018--CCA Highlights
Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region exceeded expectations in 2017, but momentum is set to fade, according to the IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook (REO).
he report highlights the importance of raising medium-term growth in the CCA region, outlining how growth-friendly fiscal policies, increased private activity, and improved resilience to global shocks are essential to delivering this goal.
view the IMF-Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia November 2018
Source: IMF
Smart beta growth engine sputters as investors question strategy
November 4, 2018--Active-passive hybrid funds on course for lowest level of inflows in five years.
Smart beta funds take an ordinary index and tweak it based on so-called factors , such as comparing prices of the underlying stocks with earnings. There are growing concerns, however, about the quality of some smart beta strategies.
Source: FT.com
IMF Working Papers-The Limits of Meritocracy
November 1, 2018--Summary:
We show that too much meritocracy, modeled as accuracy of performance ranking in contests, can be a bad thing: in contests with homogeneous agents, it reduces output and is Pareto inefficient.
In contests with sufficiently heterogeneous agents, discouragement and complacency effects further reduce the benefits of meritocracy. Perfect meritocracy may be optimal only for intermediate levels of heterogeneity.
view the IMF Working Papers-The Limits of Meritocracy
Source: IMF
Investors turn to ETF options for safety amid turmoil
November 1, 2018--A chastening October reminds some investors about the risks of a further drop
Source: FT.com
IMF Working Papers-An Algorithmic Crystal Ball: Forecasts-based on Machine Learning
November 1, 2018--Summary:
Forecasting macroeconomic variables is key to developing a view on a country's economic outlook. Most traditional forecasting models rely on fitting data to a pre-specified relationship between input and output variables, thereby assuming a specific functional and stochastic process underlying that process.
We pursue a new approach to forecasting by employing a number of machine learning algorithms, a method that is data driven, and imposing limited restrictions on the nature of the true relationship between input and output variables. We apply the Elastic Net, SuperLearner, and Recurring Neural Network algorithms on macro data of seven, broadly representative, advanced and emerging economies and find that these algorithms can outperform traditional statistical models, thereby offering a relevant addition to the field of economic forecasting.
view the IMF Working Papers-An Algorithmic Crystal Ball: Forecasts-based on Machine Learning
Source: IMF
World Gold Council-Gold Demand Trends Q3 2018
October 31, 2018--Q3 demand steady; up 6.2t y-o-y
Gold demand was 964.3t in Q3, just 6.2t higher y-o-y. Robust central bank buying and a 13% rise in consumer demand offset large ETF outflows.
Bar and coin demand jumped 28% to 298.1t as retail investors took advantage of the lower gold price and sought protection against currency weakness and tumbling stock markets. Jewellery demand rose 6% in Q3 as lower prices caught consumers' attention. A growing number of central bank buyers saw demand in this sector rise 22% y-o-y to 148.4t, the highest level of quarterly net purchases since 2015. Technology registered its eighth consecutive quarter of y-o-y growth, up 1%. Sharp outflows in gold-backed ETFs offset growth across much of the gold market.
Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
Doing Business Report: New Record Set as 314 Reforms Introduced to Improve Business Climate Around the World
October 31, 2018--Governments around the world set a new record in bureaucracy busting efforts for the domestic private sector, implementing 314 business reforms over the past year, says the World Bank Group's Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform report, released today.
The reforms, carried out in 128 economies, benefit small and medium enterprises as well as entrepreneurs, enabling job creation and stimulating private investment. This year's reforms surpass the previous all-time high of 290 reforms two years ago.
view the World Bank Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform report
Source: World Bank
ETFGI Reports Assets Invested In Actively Managed ETFs And ETPs Reached A New High Of US$106 Billion At The End Of September 2018
October 30, 2019--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in actively managed ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new high of US$106 billion, following net inflows of US$2.96 billion and market moves during September.
August trends continued, with actively managed ETFs/ETPs in North America attracting net inflows, while actively managed ETFs/ETPs in Europe saw net outflows, according to ETFGI's September 2018 Global Active ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Total Assets in actively managed ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record $106 Bn in September.
Net new assets gathered by actively managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally were $2.96 Bn in September.
44th consecutive months of net inflows into actively managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally.
Source: ETFGI
Growing Exponentially, Floating Solar Opens Up New Horizons for Renewable Energy: Report
October 30, 2018--Floating solar technologies are creating major new opportunities to scale up solar energy around the world, particularly in countries with high population density and competing uses for available land.
The use of floating solar-deployment of photovoltaic panels on the surface of bodies of waThe use of floating solar-deployment of photovoltaic panels on the surface of bodies of water-has grown more than a hundred-fold in less than four years, from a worldwide installed capacity of 10 megawatts at the end of 2014 to 1.1 gigawatts by September 2018, according to the first market report on floating solar, produced by the World Bank Group and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS).
view World Bank Report-Where Sun Meets Water: Floating Solar Market Report-Executive Summary
Source: World Bank
Do not blame index funds and ETFs for market volatility
October 30, 2018--Scaremongering about crashes ignores the long-term success of diversified investment.
Markets are jittery. Volatility is increasing. Everyone seems to be expecting the market sell-off to sharpen.
They disagree on the reasons: rising interest rates, increasing trade tensions, burgeoning government debt, additional Brexit uncertainty. Some people also add the growth of funds that track market indices like the FTSE 100 and the S&P 500.
Source: FT.com
