Global ETF News Older than One Year
First Bridge Data-ETF Global Snapshot-June 2018
June 15, 2018--Monthly Global ETF Snapshot:
Highlights
Global ETF assets were $5.085T as of May 31, 2018.
As of May 31, 2018, MSCI began to include China 'A' shares in its emerging markets
index that is tracked by large ETFs like the iShares Emerging Markets ETF ('EEM').
Schwab published its annual ETF investor study, which showed that 91% of
'millennial' investors (currently aged 25-37) consider ETFs as their investment
vehicle of choice.
There were 152 new ETF listings globally in May 2018.
US small caps ('IWM'; 5.3%) significantly outperformed US large caps ('SPY'; 2.8%)
in the trailing 1-month through June 14, 2018.
In the US large cap equity space, growth outperformed other popular 'smart beta'
strategies like value and low volatility in the trailing 1-month through June 14, 2018.
Source: First Bridge Data
IMF Working Papers-A Macroeconomic Approach to the Term Premium
June 15, 2018--Summary:
In recent years, term premia have been very low and sometimes even negative. Now, with the United States economy growing above potential, inflationary pressures are on the rise.
Term premia are very sensitive to the expected future path of growth, inflation, and monetary policy, and an inflation surprise could require monetary policy to tighten faster than anticipated, inducing to a sudden decompression of term and other risk premia, thus tightening financial conditions.
This paper proposes a semi-structural dynamic term structure model augmented with macroeconomic factors to include cyclical dynamics with a focus on medium- to long-run forecasts. Our results clearly show that a macroeconomic approach is warranted: While term premium estimates are in line with those from other studies, we provide (i) plausible, stable estimates of expected long-term interest rates and (ii) forecasts of short-and long-term interest rates as well as cyclical macroeconomic variables that are stunningly close to those generated from large-scale macroeconomic models.
view the IMF Working Papers-A Macroeconomic Approach to the Term Premium
Source: IMF
Millennial Money: When ethical funds aren't so ethical
June 13, 2018--Do you really know what you're buying with ESG assets?
The younger generation are a caring bunch. We're worried about climate change, get angry when companies abuse human rights and want to know that our money isn't funding those kinds of companies. That makes us prime targets for a growing crop of ethical funds that claim to strip out the corporate baddies from the goodies, leaving us with morally gleaming portfolios that we can feel good about while earning stock market returns.
Source: FT.com
Cryptocurrency tether used to boost bitcoin prices, study finds
June 13, 2018--There is evidence that tether, a digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, may have been used to manipulate the price of bitcoin BTC=BTSP and other cryptocurrencies, according to a research paper released by the University of Texas on Wednesday.
"Tether seems to be used both to stabilize and manipulate bitcoin prices," said the paper's co-authors, professor John Griffin and doctoral student Amin Shams.
Critics of tether have raised concerns over the past year about whether Tether Limited actually holds $1 in reserve for each tether issued, as it claims.
Source: Reuters
ETFGI reports that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally are again above the US$5 trillion milestone at the end of May 2018
June 12, 2018-ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally broke through the US$5.000 Tn milestone at the end of May 2018 to reach $5.004 Tn (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally broke through the
$5.000 Tn milestone at the end of May 2018
Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by 0.71%, or
$35.15 bn, during May, to reach $5.004 Tn
In May 2018, ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of
$50.00 Bn, the highest since January 2018, which saw $105.75 Bn net inflows
Source: ETFGI
Solactive-ROBO-ADVISORY: A Closer Look at the Engine Room Through Time June 2018 view the Solactive-ROBO-ADVISORY: A Closer Look at the Engine Room Through Time June 2018 report
Source: Solactive AG
66% of pension fund managers cite passive investments as established part of portfolio
According to a DWS-sponsored report, Passive Investing: reshaping the global investment landscape, the majority of pension funds now view passive investments as a "mature" part of their portfolio.
The analysis, which looked at over 150 pension plans globally found that the average pension fund holds 32 per cent of investments in passives or solutions in the form of either index funds, passive funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Source: pensionsage.com
Markets turn down the volumes when the World Cup starts
More than two-thirds (43) of the 64 games in this year's tournament will be played during European or Latin American trading hours which has been shown to significantly change market behaviour.
Source: Zawya.com
Thomson Reuters-New Constructs: How To Find the Best Sector ETFs 2Q18
Those 44 Technology ETFs are very different. With anywhere from 25 to 358 holdings, many of these Technology ETFs have drastically different portfolios, creating drastically different investment implications.
The same is true for the ETFs in any other sector, as each offers a very different mix of good and bad stocks. Consumer Non-cyclicals ranks first for stock selection. Energy ranks last. Details on the Best & Worst ETFs in each sector are here.
Source: Thomson Reuters
An Imbalance in Global Banks' Dollar Funding
Most of the $7 trillion in banks' dollar lending outside the United States is handled by banks based in Europe, Japan and elsewhere.
This is significant because these banks can't easily tap the dollars deposited at their US subsidiaries to finance dollar lending outside of the country.
Source: IMF
June 12, 2018--EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Our previous chapter Robo Advisory: A Closer Look at the Engine Room studied the digital portfolios of three hypothetical investors-Bart S., Lisa S., Abraham S.-as recommended by a sample of German and US robo-advisors. This report is a follow-up to the
The paper presents five main findings that are summarized on the side. In addition, the paper introduces an updated version of a simulated multi-asset class model that was first developed in the November report, as a proxy for robo-advisors' performance through time.
June 12, 2018--A total of 66 per cent of pension fund managers regard passive investments as an established, mature part of their portfolio, DWS has reported.
June 12, 2018--The World Cup kicks off in Russia on Thursday and investors should be warned that financial markets tend to act like any emotional soccer fan during the matches-they go quiet and nervy and don't like losing.
June 12, 2018--Don't Trust ETF Labels
There are at least 44 different Technology ETFs and at least 225 ETFs across eleven sectors. Do investors need 20+ choices on average per sector? How different can the ETFs be?
June 12, 2018--For companies and investors outside the United States, the dollar is often the currency of choice. Surprisingly, though, US banks play only a limited role in lending dollars to international borrowers.
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