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)
December 2017 Eurekahedge Report
December 19, 2017--Highlights from this month's report
Hedge funds were up 7.27% for the year, posting better performance compared to a modest 3.68% gains last year. Asset base for the industry grew by US$188.2 billion in 2017, with US$94.7 billion of the gains in assets attributed to investor inflows and US$93.5 billion attributed to performance-based gains.
This compares with an AUM contraction of US$20.0 billion in 2016 where investor redemptions stood at US$55.1 billion while performance-based gains came in at US$35.1 billion.
Almost 76% of hedge fund managers have posted positive returns in 2017, their highest proportion on record since 2013. Around 29% of the managers have posted gains exceeding 10% this year while around 6% of the managers have posted losses exceeding 10%.
Source: Eurekahedge
FT-Exchange traded funds: a review of 2017
December 19, 2017--It is increasingly challenging for entrants to build profitable operations
Record new cash inflows have poured into the exchange traded fund industry for four consecutive years, a honeypot that is attracting asset managers worldwide.
Forty-four fund companies launched ETFs for the first time in 2017 in spite of mounting evidence that it is becoming increasingly ...
Source: FT.com
The Most Overhyped Sectors in Tech, According to Entrepreneurs
December 15, 2017--What founders think about emerging technologies
Founders are at the very ground level, and their pursuits have a ripple effect on the entire startup ecosystem.
As a result, how entrepreneurs think about different subsectors within tech is of utmost importance. Not only do their perceptions influence what projects they themselves choose to build, but how founders allocate their time and energy may also be a useful gauge of where future economic potential lies.
Source: visualcapitalist.com