Bond ETF volumes surge to record highs
October 10, 2016--Investors have piled more than $100bn into bond exchange traded funds so far this year, taking the global total to its highest ever level as fixed income investors adapt to a changing financial ecosystem.
Source: FT.com
ETFS Outlook September 2016-The unintended consequences of QE
October 10, 2016--The greatest experiment in monetary policy history,quantitative easing (QE), has led to two primary benefits: liquidity and confidence. QE has also led to distortions in the investment world, with bond yields falling into negative territory for the first time in history.
Opinions on monetary policy are deeply polarised; with some investors rushing to safe havens signifying concern over monetary policy effectiveness at a time when equity markets are achieving all-time-highs.
Source: ETF Securities
ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis- Investors see GBP bottom despite flash crash
October 10, 2016--Long GBP ETPs record the highest inflows in two years.
Investors maintain faith in
the strength of the US Dollar, with ETP inflows the highest in four weeks.
Profit-taking in crude oil ETPs hits seven-week high as optimism fades over OPEC production cut deal.
Gold ETP inflows continue despite falling prices, as investors question the global economic outlook
Source: ETF Securities
Investors, advisors 'miles apart' in return expectations
October 10, 2016--Study says advisors also fear new regs and some are planning to leave the industry
No matter how well investors may think they understand the markets, and advisors may think they understand their clients, the gap between the two is a Great Divide that must be breached if advisors are to get a handle on clients' actual risk tolerance.
Source: benefitspro.com
Gold Rebounds From Worst Week in Years on ETF Bargain Hunting
October 10, 2016--Holdings of gold-backed ETFs rise to highest level since 2013
Goldman sees buying opportunity at prices below $1,250
Gold futures rebounded from the biggest weekly drop in more than three years as investors jumped into exchange-traded funds backed by the metal, lifting global holdings to the highest since 2013.
Source: Bloomberg
Liquidity Illusion Burns Traders Blindsided by Pound's Crash
October 9, 2016--BofA warns 'phantom liquidity' vanishing in times of stress
Sterling tumbled 6.1% in a matter of minutes on Oct. 7
The inexplicable volatility that roiled the British pound last week came as no surprise to Bank of America Corp., which just days earlier warned that liquidity in the $5.1 trillion-per-day global currency market was far worse than anyone imagined.
Source: Bloomberg
LUV Your Stock: Study Shows That Ticker Symbols Matter
October 9, 2016--Stocks benefit from the "likability" and even the pronounceability of a ticker symbol
Can an interesting stock symbol move markets?
A study published in the Journal of Financial Markets finds that the "likability" and even the pronounceability of a ticker symbol are positively related to a stock's value. In other words' if your stock can’t have the symbol IBM or AAPL, at least pick a clever one.
Source: Wall Street Journal
EDHEC-Risk Institute study highlights the added value of active allocation to smart beta indices
October 8, 2016--EDHEC-Risk Institute study highlights the added value of active allocation to smart beta indices
In a new study entitled "Active Allocation to Smart Factor Indices", drawn from the eponymous Rothschild & Cie research chair, EDHEC-Risk provides a formal empirical analysis of the benefits of strategic and tactical allocation to multiple equity smart factor indices in a context where relative risk with respect to the cap-weighted indices needs to be explicitly controlled for.
view the EDHEC Publication Investing: Active Allocation to Smart Factor Indices report
Source: EDHEC-Risk Institute
BlackRock's revenue dips as active investment weakens
October 8, 2016--Cuts to employee pay and benefits help asset manager lift operating margins
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, reported a drop in revenue for the third quarter compared with the year before as clients continued to march away from actively managed investment strategies.
Source: FT.com
BlackRock Global ETP Landscape-September 2016
October 7, 206--SEPTEMBER GLOBAL ETP FLOWS ADVANCE ON STRENGTH IN U.S. AND JAPANESE EQUITIES
Global ETPs gathered $30.5bn in September, continuing on record year-to-date pace, propelled by U.S. and Japanese equities and bolstered by emerging markets (EM) equities and debt and steady flows to corporate bonds.
U.S. equities collected $9.7bn as the Fed opted to hold rates steady and amid improving economic data in the U.S.
Japanese equities surged to $9.3bn, entirely due to local providers, spurred by Bank of Japan pledges of additional stimulus measures to combat weak growth
Broad EM equities and EM debt funds maintained momentum with inflows of $2.7bn and $1.8bn, respectively, and both categories remained on record year-to-date pace amid prospects for a slower pace of rate hikes in the U.S .
Source: BlackRock