Global ETF News Older than One Year
Top banks' first quarter commodities revenue jumps 48 percent: report
May 23, 2018--Commodities-related revenue at the 12 biggest investment banks in the first quarter jumped 48 percent year on year driven by the U.S. energy sector and commodity indices, consultancy Coalition said on Thursday.
Revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector climbed to $1.2 billion, the financial industry analytics firm said in a report.
Source: Reuters
Cryptocurrency prices are all in the mind
May 23, 2018--Research suggests investor mood swings only factor in fluctuating prices
The volatility of cryptocurrencies has become something of a joke. The fact its value bounces around like a kangaroo in a clown car has given rise to countless memes about the emotional toll of being an investor.
A cryptocurrency's price depends on a number of factors, at least according to the exchanges they are traded on. There's supply and demand, the energy required to secure the blockchain...
n Or maybe it's all just perception. According to new research from the UK's University of Warwick Business School cryptocurrency prices are not influenced by any economic factors and are instead "driven purely by the mood swing of investors".
Source: www.cio.com
First Bridge Data-ETF Global Snapshot-May 2018
May 22, 2018--Key Highlights
Global ETF assets crossed the $5T threshold, a key milestone for the industry.
Rising crude oil prices resulted in energy heavy large cap Russian stocks ('RSX') outperforming Russian small caps ('RSXJ').
Aberdeen Standard announced the acquisition of ETF Securities' ETF business in the US.
There were 14 new ETF listings in the US in April 2018, with 8 of them being active
(non-indexed) ETFs. There were 127 new ETF listings outside the US in the month.
US small caps ('IWM') were the best performing of six major asset classes in the
trailing 1-month through May 18, 2018.
Source: First Bridge Data
More Governments Taking Up Carbon Pricing and Seeing Big Benefits in Revenues: World Bank Report
May 22, 2018--In 2017, Governments Raised About $33 Billion In Carbon Pricing Revenue, a 50% increase from 2016
Governments at national and subnational levels around the world continue to prepare for, and implement, carbon pricing initiatives as a means to curb their emissions while raising revenues, a new World Bank report finds.
Launched at the Innovate4Climate conference in Frankfurt, the annual State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2018 report shows that carbon pricing continues to gain traction. This edition of the report also includes emerging trends as countries negotiate the guidelines of the Paris Agreement, in the run-up to the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
view moreview the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2018 report
Source: World Bank
Introducing the EDHEC-Princeton Retirement Goal-Based Investing Index Series-an answer to the retirement problem
May 21, 2018-- With the growing need to supplement public and private retirement benefits with voluntary contributions, individuals are becoming increasingly responsible for their own retirement savings and investment decisions.
This global trend poses substantial challenges to individuals, who typically lack the expertise required to make such complex financial decisions. Unfortunately, current investment products such as target date funds that are often used as default options in retirement accounts, hardly provide a solution to investors' and households' replacement income needs in retirement.
In a new publication entitled "Applying Goal-Based Investing Principles to the Retirement Problem", EDHEC-Risk Institute and Professor John Mulvey of the Operations Research & Financial Engineering Department at Princeton University outline the shortcomings of existing retirement products, and lay the academic foundations for a new generation of risk-controlled target date funds.
view the Applying Goal-Based Investing Principles to the Retirement Problem research paper
Source: EDHEC-Risk Institute
Fifth annual FTSE Russell global institutional smart beta survey
May 21, 2018--Growing interest in multi-factor, ESG and education
In 2018, 91% of asset owners globally have a smart beta investment allocation, have evaluated or are planning to evaluate smart beta in the next 18 months
Survey shows a 16% increase in implementation or consideration over past five years, yet more than 50% of asset owners in the US & UK remain uncertain on the best approach
Use of multi-factor combination smart beta index-based investment strategies by global asset owners has more than doubled since first measured in 2015
Nearly 40% of global asset owners anticipate applying ESG to a smart beta strategy in the next 18 months-nearly half for performance reasons
Total assets under management of survey participants estimated at $3.5 trillion globally
FTSE Russell today published results from its fifth annual global institutional asset owner smart beta survey. The report provides insight into the major trends over recent years around awareness, popularity and use of smart beta index-based investment strategies by the global institutional investor community.
Source: FTSE Russell
IMF Working Papers-Sharp Instrument: A Stab at Identifying the Causes of Economic Growth
May 21, 2018--Summary:
We shed new light on the determinants of growth by tackling the blunt and weak instrument problems in the empirical growth literature. As an instrument for each endogenous variable, we propose average values of the same variable in neighboring countries.
This method has the advantage of producing variable-specific and time-varying-namely, "sharp"-and strong instruments. We find that export sophistication is the only robust determinant of growth among standard growth determinants such as human capital, trade, financial development, and institutions. Our results suggest that other growth determinants may be important to the extent they help improve export sophistication.
view the IMF Working Papers-Sharp Instrument: A Stab at Identifying the Causes of Economic Growth
Source: IMF
IMF Working Papers-Should We Fear the Robot Revolution? (The Correct Answer is Yes)
May 21, 2018--We analyze the implications for inequality and output, using a model with two assumptions: "robot" capital is distinct from traditional capital in its degree of substitutability with human labor; and only capitalists and skilled workers save.
We analyze a range of variants that reflect widely different views of how automation may transform the labor market. Our main results are surprisingly robust: automation is good for growth and bad for equality; in the benchmark model real wages fall in the short run and eventually rise, but "eventually" can easily take generations.
view the IMF Working Papers-Should We Fear the Robot Revolution? (The Correct Answer is Yes)
Source: IMF
London-Shanghai Stock Link Takes a Step Closer to Reality
May 20, 2018--Depositary receipts in each city will be cornerstone
System will start this year, according to exchange document.
The long-awaited link between stock exchanges in London and Shanghai is close to becoming a reality, according to a London Stock Exchange Group Plc presentation, another step in China's efforts to integrate with the international financial system.
Source: Bloomberg
DECPG Global Weekly
May 18, 2018--TAKING STOCK
U.S. industrial production and retail sales rose in April; new housing construction fell
Euro Area GDP growth slowed in 18Q1; inflation was confirmed at 1.2 percent in April.
Japan's GDP contracted for first time since 2015
China's industrial output growth picked up in April, but retail sales and investment growth slowed
Bond issuance in the SSA remained strong
U.S. industrial production and retail sales rose in April; new housing construction fell. U.S. industrial production rose 0.7 percent (m/m, sa) in April, following an upwardly revised gain of 0.7 percent in March (Figure 1). Mining output climbed 1.1 percent in April, owing to strong gains in oil and gas extraction. Utility output rose 1.9 percent, driven by a sharp rise in natural gas output.
Source: World Bank
