Will Vanguard Manage to Crack the Active ETF Market?
By launching a range of active factor ETFs, Vanguard looks to ride two waves at the same time: smart-also know as strategic-beta and active ETFs
December 21, 2015--On December 10, Vanguard launched four new European-domiciled actively managed ETFs which provide global exposure to four factors-value, liquidity, momentum and low volatility.
For a number of reasons, Vanguard's move has confounded industry observers.
Source: Morningstar
LSEG acquires XTF
December 21, 2015--XTF is a provider of U.S. ETF data, analytics and ratings
Acquisition adds to LSEG's leading offering in the ETF space
Growing demand for greater research tools to track $3 trillion global ETF market
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) today confirms that it has completed the acquisition of assets, through its Information Services division, from XTF Inc., a U.S. based provider of high-quality ETF data, analytics and ratings. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The business will be integrated into LSEG's Information Services Division, which includes FTSE Russell, a global leader in indexes, and a range of real time and reference data products, including SEDOL, UnaVista and RNS.
Source: London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
JPMorgan to pay $150 million in 'London Whale' U.S. class action
December 21, 2015--JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to pay $150 million to resolve a securities fraud lawsuit by investors suing the bank over its "London Whale" trading scandal, which caused a $6.2 billion loss.
The settlement was disclosed in papers filed on Friday in federal court in Manhattan and would resolve a class action lawsuit filed in the wake of the scandal that emerged in 2012.
Source: Reuters
All of the World's Money and Markets in One Visualization
December 20, 2015--How much money exists in the world?
Strangely enough, there are multiple answers to this question, and the amount of money that exists changes depending on how we define it.
The more abstract definition of money we use, the higher the number is. .
Source: The Money Project
Smart beta's potential starting to overwhelm ETF providers
December 20, 2015--Exchange traded fund sponsors and index providers are churning out new smart beta benchmarks at a rapid clip, but the challenge now is explaining to investors how the latest approach to mixing and matching factors is better
than-or at least different from-the ones that came before.
Source: FT.com
Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund Transitions to New FTSE Index
December 20, 2015--Vanguard announced today that the $53 billion Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund, including its ETF share class (ticker: VEA), will begin tracking a new FTSE transition index as part of a two-phase change to a new target index, the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. The change will be effective with the opening of trading on December 21, 2015.
In the first phase, the fund will track the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Transition Index, an interim index that will gradually increase exposure to small-capitalization stocks and Canadian securities, while proportionately reducing the weightings of other stocks.
Source: Vanguard
Infographic-Junk Bonds Finally Capitulate to Lower Oil Price Environment
December 18, 2015--High-yield bond ETFs are down double-digits since the summer.
Over the month of December, the market for high-yield bonds (also known as junk bonds) had a mini-meltdown that's raised some eyebrows.
Junk bonds, which are non-investment grade debt instruments that are issued by companies with poor credit ratings, are both high-risk and high-reward. If the companies don't default on their payments, the bonds pay a nice premium to the investor. In fact, the risk and return on junk bonds is generally comparable with that of stocks. view
Source: visualcapitalist.com
DECPG Weekly-December 18, 2015
December 18, 2015--Taking Stock
U.S. Fed raised policy rates; IP contracted in November. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised policy interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. On Wednesday, in a widely anticipated move, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) increased the target range of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.25-0.5 percent.
The FOMC policy statement emphasized that future interest rate increases would be gradual and would depend on incoming data. Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production contracted by 0.6 percent in November (m/m), the largest decrease since March 2012, following the 0.4 percent fall in October (Figure 1). The decline was more than expected, partly due to a sharp drop in utilities output, which fell by 1.1 percent. Manufacturing output was unchanged.
Euro Area IP rose more than expected; PMI dipped. Euro Area industrial production advanced 0.6 percent (m/m) in October, reversing a 0.3 percent fall in September. The latest reading exceeded expectations and was the first monthly increase in 3 months, led by a rise in capital goods output and durable consumer goods production. Meanwhile, the flash Markit composite output index for the Euro Area unexpectedly fell to 54.0 in December from 54.2 in November, reflecting diverging performance in manufacturing and services.
Renaissance Capital's 2015 US IPO Annual Review
December 18, 2015--Coming off of two banner years, the 2015 IPO market was a disappointment with 169 IPOs raising only $30 billion, a six-year low.
There is no single explanation for the decline in 2015 activity; rather, it was driven by a number of factors, including uncertainties about Federal Reserve and European monetary policies, concerns over the Chinese economy, poor IPO performance, declining energy prices and increases in M&A and private market transactions.
view the Renaissance Capital's 2015 US IPO Annual Review
Source: Renaissance Capital
Wealth managers must fight harder for next generation of clients
December 18, 2015--Wealth managers need to sharpen up if they are to retain the next generation of affluent families as clients, a report into global family wealth...
Source: FT.com