World Bank exceeds expectations with world-first blockchain bond: CBA
August 23, 2018--The world's first public bond created and managed using only blockchain had support from seven investors, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the sole lead manager of the deal said on Friday, helping raise A$110 million ($80.48 million) for the World Bank.
Commonwealth Bank (CBA.AX) executive general manager James Wall said that the deal, designed to test how the technology might improve decades-old bond sales practices, had exceeded expectations and interest had been "overwhelming".
Source: Reuters
State Street Research Reveals Majority of Asset Managers Face Challenges with Distribution-Related Data
August 22, 2018--State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) today announced the latest findings from its research, the State Street 2018 Fund Strategy Survey [1], which surveyed 250 asset managers globally and analysed how they are developing cross-border strategies, including the factors influencing their choice of fund vehicle, passport and domicile location.
According to the survey, 64 percent of asset managers plan to launch cross-border products in the next five years. However, the majority (88 percent) see distribution-related data as a challenge in achieving this, and believe the pace of change is only accelerating with more than half (57 percent) worrying about new entrants from the world of technology.
Source: State Street Corporation
ETFGI reports that Active ETFs and ETPs listed globally reach a new high of US$95.9 billion at the end of July 2018
August 22, 2018--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in Active ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new high of US$95.9 billion, following net inflows of US$3.59 billion and market moves during July, according to ETFGI's July 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
Active ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new high of $95.9 Bn in assets.
Active ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net new assets of $3.59 Bn during July 2018.
Fixed income products experienced the largest net inflows, while commodity-based products saw the largest net outflows.
Source: ETFGI
Group working to create virtual currency self-regulatory organization
August 20, 2018--A group of digital exchanges announced Monday is working to establish an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organization to oversee virtual commodity marketplaces.
Participants in the working group of the Virtual Commodity Association include Bitstamp, bitFlyer USA, Bittrex and Gemini Trust Co. The VCA was created by Gemini Trust co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. view more
Source: pionline.com
Hedge fund assets hit another record, but see outflows
July 20, 2018--The hedge fund industry hit a record high for the eighth consecutive quarter with $3.326 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, data released Thursday by Hedge Fund Research showed.
Assets in the second quarter were up 0.7% from the quarter ended March 31 and up 4.4% from a year earlier.
Source: Pensions & Investments
World Economic Forum-Report: AI Creating Big Winners in Finance but Others Stand to Lose as Risks Emerge
August 15, 2018--Artificial intelligence (AI) is silently transforming the back office working of banks and insurers, leading to a few big winners but putting banks that try to excel at everything in the firing line, a new report finds
Early big movers offer their AI applications as a "service" to their competitors; attracting users to accelerate their system's learning, and turning cost centres into profit centres
Artificial intelligence is changing the finance industry, with some early big movers monetizing their investments in back-office AI applications. But as this trend widens, new systemic and security risks may be introduced in the financial system. These are some of the findings of a new World Economic Forum report, The New Physics of Financial Services-How artificial intelligence is transforming the financial ecosystem, prepared in collaboration with Deloitte.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
ETF growth limited by current trading practices, study finds
August 14, 2018--Greenwich Associates research urges firms to distinguish ETFs from other asset classes when trading to avoid suboptimal execution.
Buy-side and sell-side trading practices currently used to trade exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are limiting growth in the industry, according to a new study.
Greenwich Associates found that many institutional investors, equity broker-dealers and market makers currently deploy the same methods for trading ETFs as for equities, but this often leads to suboptimal executions.
Source: thetradenews.com
Private Equity Spending Pace Slows to 10-Year Low
August 13, 2018--Buyout groups are spending money at their slowest pace since the financial crash a decade ago, despite having raised record amounts of cash, new data show.
Private equity firms have gone from using more than 5 per cent of their capital, quarter on quarter, at the height of the boom years in 2006, to utilising about 1 per cent in the last three months of 2017, an analysis of figures from 1,000 institutional Investors reveals.
Source: Albourne Village Newsletter
Fallout from the Turkish lira's meltdown is starting to spread to markets around the world
August 13, 2018--Global markets are under pressure following the plunge in the Turkish lira late last week.
The lira's fall continued in Asian trade on Monday-it plunged as much as 10% when markets opened.
The weakness is starting to spread to other emerging market currencies, with the South African rand crashing by as much as 10% against the greenback.
Stock markets around Asia are lower, US stock futures are down, and high quality bonds are rallying.
Source: businessinsider.fr
Companies with strong ESG scores outperform, study finds
August 12, 2018-Portfolios in large and medium-sized groups in developed markets, excluding the US, record best results.
Companies with better environmental, social and governance standards typically record stronger financial performance and beat their benchmarks, according to research from Axioma.
Source: FT.com