BlackRock ETP Landscape: Strong June caps best quarter in 5 years
GLOBAL ETPS GATHER $36.3BN IN JUNE TO PROPEL YEAR-TO-DATE FLOWS AHEAD OF 2013 PACE
July 7, 2014--Year-to-date global ETP flows of $123.9bn were up 25% vs. the first half of last year following a Q2 total of $90.6bn that exceeded any quarter in the past 5 years
Fixed income, European equity, Japanese equity and broad-based global/global ex-US equity have been strong contributors so far this year
US equity and EM equity flows have improved after a slow start to the year
June inflows of $36.3bn included the best month of the year for equities with $36.8bn, driven by US, European and emerging markets equity funds
Source: BlackRock ETP Landscape Research
ETFs And ETPs Listed Globally Reached Record 2.64 Trillion U.S. Dollars In Assets At End Q2 2014
According to ETFGI: ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached US$2.64 trillion in assets, a new record high, at the end of Q2 2014
July 7, 2014--ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered U.S. $34.8 billion in net new assets in June and U.S. $126.6 billion YTD, which outpaces the previous high of U.S. $106.4 billion at this point set in 2012.
Net flows combined with positive market performance during H1 2014 pushed assets in the global ETF/ETP industry to a new record high of U.S. $2.64 Tn invested in 5,359 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,401 listings, from 219 providers listed on 59 exchanges, according to preliminary data from ETFGI's end H1 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
BATS Global Markets June Highlights: Market Share Remains Strong Globally; Company Plans New York, Chicago Expansion
BATS Chi-X Europe Reports 20.3% Market Share
July 7, 2014--BATS Global Markets (BATS) today reported June volume, market share, and monthly highlights:
In the U.S., BATS earned 19.2% U.S. equities market share in June, up from 10.4% a year ago. BATS Options recorded 3.9% market share vs. 3.8% one year ago.
In Europe, BATS Chi-X Europe finished with overall market share of 20.3%. Over the course of the month €308bn was reported to BATS’ trade reporting facility, BXTR. In addition, a further four participants are now reporting to BXTR with Deutsche Bank, Instinet, KCG and Liquidnet now using the service.
On June 9, BATS Chi-X Europe, in partnership with Euroclear Bank, announced the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) listing on BATS- iShares MSCI USA Divident IQ UCITS ETF-with an international securities structure.
On June 26, BATS announced the signing of a 10-year lease renewal at its Kansas City-area global headquarters, as well as plans to open a Chicago office and expand its New York City presence due to the Direct Edge Holdings merger.
Source: BATS Global Markets, Inc
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly-Platinum Breaches US $1,500/oz on Strong Auto Sales and Supply Constraints
July 7, 2014--Platinum and palladium prices hit new 2014 highs. Strong global vehicle sales, coupled
with news of a new strike in South Africa and continued tensions in the Ukraine supported
1.6% and 1.9% gains in platinum and palladium (PGMs) last week.
Gold and silver shrugged off better than expected US unemployment data to settle the week essentially unchanged. The precious metals ended the first half (H1) of the year with solid gains on the back of declining real yields, increasing political tensions, supply constraints and improving industrial demand as global economic recovery has accelerated. Palladium remained the stalwart, with an H1 increase of 18%. Gold and platinum were neck and neck with gains of 9.3% and 9.1% respectively, followed by a 7.0% H1 increase in silver, which roughly matched the 7.1% total return for the S&P 500. Looking forward to H2, more of the same is expected, with the potential risk of a long overdue equity market stumble, notorious for occurring near the end of Q3 or beginning of Q4. Supply demand imbalances should favour further appreciation in silver, platinum and palladium. Gold may fall to the wayside if all attention remains focused on a continued rise in risky assets, but more recent ETP flows indicate some investors are diversifying into gold as a risk hedge as equity volatility levels dip near historic lows.
Source: ETF Securities
IMF Working paper-Banks, Government Bonds, and Default: What do the Data Say?
July 7, 2014--Summary: We analyze holdings of public bonds by over 20,000 banks in 191 countries, and the role of these bonds in 20 sovereign defaults over 1998-2012. Banks hold many public bonds (on average 9% of their assets), particularly in less financially-developed countries.
During sovereign defaults, banks increase their exposure to public bonds, especially large banks and when expected bond returns are high. At the bank level, bondholdings correlate negatively with subsequent lending during sovereign defaults. This correlation is mostly due to bonds acquired in pre-default years. These findings shed light on alternative theories of the sovereign default-banking crisis nexus.
Source: IMF
July 4, 2014--BlackRock's exchange traded funds business past the $1tn milestone for assets for the first time in June, helped by a strong performance in Europe where the ETF industry registered record breaking growth in the first half of 2014.
Investors put a record $32.1bn into European listed ETFs (funds and products) in the first six months the year, compared with just under $4bn at the end of June last year, according to ETFGI, a consultancy.
Source: FT.com
Investors favour equity ETFs: report
July 4, 2014--Investors had found comfort in equity exchange-traded funds (ETF), with the products experiencing nearly US$84 billion in inflows in 2013 so far, according to a State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) report.
SSgA's "2013 Midyear SPDR ETF & Investment Outlook: The search for yield evolves" revealed broad market equity ETFs had experienced the greatest flows on an absolute basis, with over US$25 billion flowing through the door.
Source: financialobserver.com
Bitcoin Faces Regulatory Backlash as EU Tells Banks to Stay Away
July 4, 2014--The European Commission signaled it will try to impose rules on virtual currencies such as Bitcoin after the bloc's banking regulator ordered lenders to shun them.
"It's imperative to move quickly on this issue," Chantal Hughes, a spokeswoman for Financial Services Commissioner Michel Barnier, said by e-mail today. "The potential for money laundering and terrorist financing is too serious to ignore."
Source: Bloomberg
ETFs back on song in second quarter
July 4, 2014--Exchange-traded fund inflows shot up to $123.9 billion in the first half of the year, a rise of 25% compared with the same period in 2013, after a strong performance in the second quarter, according to data compiled by BlackRock.
Inflows of $90.6 billion in the three months to June were the highest for a quarter since 2009, helped by renewed interest in emerging markets. June was the best month year-to-date, with inflows of $36.3 billion.
Source: Financial News
Morgan Stanley buys Deutsche's bulk commodities trading book
July 3, 2014--Morgan Stanley has bought Deutsche Bank's bulk commodities trading book dealing in coal, iron ore and freight forward contracts to expand in commodities derivatives, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The deal marks an apparent return to iron ore for the Wall Street bank, which exited the market by last year, and an expansion in coal and freight.
Source: Reuters