OCC 2017 Total Cleared Contract Volume Up Four Percent, Third Highest Volume Year Ever
January 2, 2018--Total cleared futures volume sets record with 32 percent annual growth
Total securities lending CCP activity up 16 percent in December and up 22 percent from 2016
Equity index options volume up 11 percent in December and up 15 percent from 2016
OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today announced 2017 volume reached the third highest total cleared contract volume ever with 4,327,576,930 contracts, a four percent increase from the 4,167,747,777 cleared contracts in 2016. December cleared volume was 346,006,092 contracts, up three percent from December 2016. OCC also reported record-breaking 2017 volume for cleared futures with 138,029,762 cleared contracts; a 32 percent increase from 2016.
Source: The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)
Stockpickers' fees set to suffer from ETF price war
January 1, 2018--Asset managers are bracing themselves for an even tighter squeeze on fees this year, as an intensifying price war between exchange-traded fund providers raises the pressure on those who promise to beat the market.
Traditional stockpickers enjoyed a renaissance in 2017, managing on average to...
Source: FT.com
ETFs: uncover the cracks
December 27, 2017--Individually sensible protections can increase pressure on traders to sell in a hurry.
Source: FT.com
Smart beta funds pass $1tn in assets
December 27, 2017--Milestone underscores the increasing popularity of hybrid investment strategy
Smart beta funds have hit the $1tn of assets milestone, testifying to the increasing popularity of the investment strategy.
A hybrid between active and passive investment management...
Source: FT.com
China to Overtake U.S. Economy by 2032 as Asian Might Builds
December 25, 2017--CEBR publishes World Economic League Table and predictions
Report sees India overtaking both U.K., France next year
The growing importance of Asia's major economies will continue in 2018 and beyond, according to a league table that sees the region dominating in terms of size in just over a decade.
The report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in London sees India leapfrogging the U.K. and France next year to become the world's fifth-biggest economy in dollar terms.
Source: Bloomberg
.) First Bridge 'ETF 20/20': Exchange Traded Fund-December 2017
December 22, 2017--Highlights
Global ETF assets grew by 3.05% in November 2017 to $4.776T.
Dividend ETFs have taken in over $10.6B in net new assets this year through end November 2017, equivalent to about 6% of assets in the category. Multi-factor equity ETFs have taken in $8.6B, about 12% of November end assets.
There were 50 new ETF listings in the US in November 2017. There were over 90 new ETF listings outside the US in the month.
US large cap equity ('SPY') was the best performing of 6 ETFs representing the major asset classes in the trailing 1 month through December 18, 2017.
In the US large cap equity space, value ('RPV') outperformed traditional cap weighting and other 'smart beta' strategies in the trailing 1 month through December 18, 2017.view more
Source: First Bridge Data
IMF Working paper-Oil Price Shocks and Economic Growth in Oil-Exporting Countries : Does the Size of Government Matter?
December 22, 2017--
Summary:
This paper examines the impact of government size on how output and government expenditure respond to oil price shocks in 28 oil-exporting countries between 1990 and 2016. Results suggest that if the size of government (measured by government expenditure-to-(non-oil) GDP ratio) is larger, non-oil output growth, in response to a positive oil price shock, tends to be greater and output volatility higher.
Furthermore, an unexpected increase in oil price leads to expansion in government expenditure and the expansion is larger, the larger is the government. This paper provides empirical evidence for direct correlation between government size and macroecnomic stability in oil-exporting countries. The findings imply that fiscal consolidation and economic diversification help to narrow down economic exposure to exogenous oil price shocks and reduce volatility in non-oil output.
Source: IMF
ETFGI reports Active ETFs and ETPs have gathered 24 billion US dollars in net new assets in the first 11 months of 2017
December 21, 2017--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today Active ETFs and ETPs have gathered 24 billion US dollars in net new assets in the first 11 months of 2017.
According to ETFGI's November 2017 Active ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in Active ETFs and ETPs grew by 53.4% year-to-date, the greatest annual increase since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis, and an increase of 11.7% on the previous record of US$65.77 Bn set in October 2017.
Source: ETFGI
ETFGI reports Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs have gathered 69 billion US dollars in net new assets in the first 11 months of 2017
December 21, 2017--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs have gathered 69 billion US dollars in net new assets in the first 11 months of 2017.
According to ETFGI's November 2017 Smart Beta ETF and ETP industry insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs grew by 30.1% year-to-date, the greatest annual increase since 2009 when markets recovered following the 2008 financial crisis, and an increase of 3.8% on the previous record of US$661.74 Bn set in October 2017.
Source: ETFGI
OFR-Updated Bank Data Show Rising Systemic Importance of Asian Banks
December 21, 2017--New data on the world's largest banks show the increasing systemic importance of Asian banks. The data also show that U.S. banks' systemic footprint still dominates the global totals.
Indeed, eight U.S. banks are still considered global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). G-SIBs must hold more capital than other banks. Among the U.S. banks in the tier below G-SIBs, the U.S. operations of a few foreign banks rank as the most systemically important.
Source: OFR (Office of Financial Research)