Global ETF News Older than One Year
IMF Working Paper-Banking in a Steady State of Low Growth and Interest Rates
August 27, 2018--Summary:
A prolonged low-interest-rate environment presents a significant challenge to banks and is likely to entail major changes to their business models over the long-run. Lower returns to maturity transformation in the face of flatter yield curves and an inability to offer deposit rates significantly below zero combine to compress bank earnings in this environment.
Smaller, deposit-funded, less diversified banks are hurt most, increasing consolidation pressures and reach-for-yield incentives, presenting new financial stability challenges.To the extent that such an economic environment reflects a new, steady-state with lower equilibrium growth driven by population aging and slower productivity growth, lower credit demand is likely to drive banking toward provision of fee-based, utility services.
Source: IMF
Vanguard nips at BlackRock's heels for fund crown
August 26, 2018--Money manager attracted $112bn of net new flows in first half while bigger rival brought in $77bn.
Source: FT.com
First Bridge Data-ETF Global Snapshot-Aug 2018-Upcoming GICS changes
August 23, 2018--The GICS sector changes announced in 2017 will become effective on September 28, 2018. The changes impact some of the world's most traded stocks.
Blackrock pruned its US product line by closing 16 ETFs with low asset levels.
US small cap healthcare, Internet and genomics stocks were among the best performing ETF categories this year.
There were 109 new listings globally in July 2018, with 20 of them in the US.
US small cap healthcare, Internet and genomics stocks were among the best performing ETF categories this year (through August 21, 2018). Turkish equities and Indian small caps were the worst performing.
Source: First Bridge Data
World Gold Council-Gold recoils amid selloff but may rebound
August 23, 2018--Gold fell to a 20-month low amid sharp EM currency depreciation. At these levels, we believe the gold price may bounce back. Consumer demand is likely to be supportive in H2.
And short positioning may quickly reverse should one of the many current macroeconomic risks materialise, increasing investment demand.
Momentum built as gold fell
The gold price lost 3% in August, a downturn that was exacerbated by gold's fall below US$1,200/oz-an important technical support level-for the first time since early 2017.
Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
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)
