IMF-2017 External Sector Report
July 28, 2017--Summary:
Global current account imbalances were broadly unchanged in 2016, with minor shifts adding to the reconfiguration under way since 2013. The fall in commodity prices, uneven cyclical recoveries in systemic economies, and differences in policy responses contributed to the rotation of imbalances.
Current account surpluses of oil-exporting economies, as a group, shifted from large surpluses to small deficits, while deficits in emerging and developing economies narrowed markedly. At the same time, surpluses and deficits in key advanced economies widened. These trends were generally supported by real exchange rate movements.
Source: IMF
State Street Global Advisors reshapes EMEA leadership
July 27, 2017--Cuan Coulter is the new head of State Street Global Advisors' (SSgA) operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), IPE has learned.
He will replace Mike Karpik, who is leaving the company, following a transition period over the summer.
Source: IP&E
Renminbi reaches new high for 2017
July 27, 2017--The renminbi has gained further on the dollar in the wake of comments from the US Federal Reserve, pushing the Chinese currency to a new record level for the year to date.
Source: FT.com
ERI Scientific Beta Newsletter-July 2017
July 27, 2017--Editorial
The Merits of a "Top-Down" Approach to Multi-Factor Investing
"Top-down" approaches assemble multi-factor portfolios by combining distinct sleeves for each factor.
Generally, the "top-down" approach enables a choice of factor exposure to be reconciled with the diversification of the non-rewarded specific risk and thus to reduce it. Such is the objective of the Smart Beta 2.0 approach promoted by ERI Scientific Beta on the basis of research conducted by EDHEC-Risk Institute's research teams.
Source: ERI Scientific Beta
IOSCO Publishes Thematic Review of Client Asset Protection Recommendations
July 27, 2017--The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published its Assessment Committee's Thematic Review of the Adoption of the Principles set forth in IOSCO's Report: Recommendations Regarding the Protection of Client Assets (the Principles).
The thematic review identifies the implementation progress of 38 IOSCO members from 36 jurisdictions in adopting legislation, regulation and other policies in relation to intermediaries holding client assets addressed by the Principles for the protection of client assets.
Source: IOSCO
Bitcoin Cash: Why It's Forking the Blockchain And What That Means
July 26, 2017--Bitcoin's scaling debate finally seems to be shaking out, but some users aren't happy with the results.
After a few years of debate, it was perhaps to be expected that at least some were going to come away empty-handed. Controversial scaling proposal Segwit2x tried to remedy this by joining two code change ideas-the code optimization Segregated Witness (SegWit) and a block size increase.
Source: coindesk.com
ETFGI reports assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally reach a new record of US$4.168 at the end of first half of 2017
July 26, 2017--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed globally reached a new record of US$4.168 trillion at the end of first half of 2017, according to ETFG's June 2017 global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
The Global ETF/ETP industry had 6,965 ETFs/ETPs, with 13,125 listings, assets of US$4.168 trillion, from 328 providers listed on 70 exchanges in 56 countries.
Source: ETFGI
ETF market becomes more efficient with Horizon/ULTUMUS partnership
July 26, 2017---ULTUMUS, the leading provider of near real-time ETF data and Horizon Software (Horizon), the award-winning provider of electronic trading solutions and algorithmic technology, today announced a partnership.
The new deal will improve ETF trading efficiencies and result in traders having a single point for analysing and executing ETF trades, allowing market makers and traders to quote and hedge trades more accurately and much faster than before.
Source: ULTUMUS-Financial Data Management
ULTUMUS-Global ETF Monitor
July 26, 2017--Europe
Amundi has launched a new Italian PIR tax ETF (ITALI) which will list in Paris in August. The 2017 Italian budget allowed Italian savers who invest in Italian companies to receive to receive a full income and capital gains tax exemption, so long as they stay invested for more than five years...
Vanguard has cross-listed its Canada tracker into Berlin (VAA2). VAA2 tracks the FTSE Canada Index, which is made up mostly of Canadian banks....
Source: ULTUMUS-Financial Data Management
First Bridge 'ETF 20/20': Exchange Traded Fund Monthly Report
July 25, 2017--Key Highlights
Our monthly 'ETF 20/20' report briefly summarizes recent Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) trends globally. It uses data from the First Bridge ETF database that includes all global ETPs.
Global ETF assets were $4.208T at the end of June 2017, a 17.3% increase from year-end 2016.
MSCI announced that beginning in June 2018, it would include China 'A' Shares in its widely followed Emerging Markets and All Country World Indices. The decision was driven by the increased accessibility of 'A' shares to international investors.
Russell conducted its annual rebalance in June, with the newly reconstituted indices taking effect after close of trading on June 23.
Guggenheim reduced the fees on the popular S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF ('RSP') from 0.4% to 0.2%.
view the First Bridge 'ETF 20/20': Exchange Traded Fund Monthly Report July 2017
Source: First Bridge Data