Global ETF News Older than One Year
Source Aims to Grow ETF Assets to $50bn
February 27, 2014--Source, the European exchange-traded fund provider, aims to triple assets following its sale of a majority stake last month to Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm.
As a result of the deal Lee Kranefuss, an executive-in-residence at Warburg Pincus, has joined Source as executive chairman to work with the management team led by chief executive Ted Hood. Kranefuss was previously global chief executive of iShares but left after the ETF provider was sold by Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock.
Source: MaketsMedia.com
World Bank Food Price Watch, February 2014: Prices Decline at a Slower Pace; Focus on Food Loss and Waste
February 27, 2014--Prices of internationally traded food commodities continued to decline-by 3%-between October 2013 and January 2014, adding another quarter to previously observed price declines since the August 2012 historical high. Record harvests in wheat, maize and rice, increasing availability of supplies, and stronger global stocks have continued to drive down prices.
Yet, international prices are still not overly far from their historical peak. Upward pressures from weather concerns and increasing demand, and downward risks from the effects on export prices of an increasingly contested Thai rice procurement program continue to require close monitoring.
view the World Bank report-Food Price Watch
view the infographic-Food Loss and Waste
Source: World Bank
Schroders Global Investment Trends Report 2014
February 26, 2014--Investors worldwide turn to equity markets for growth in 2014 with four-fifths planning to maintain or increase the amount they invest and save this year.
This is the first major sentiment study into investor confidence and attitudes this year, and indicates that if 2013 was the year of returning hope, 2014 is set to be the year of returning growth opportunities.
However, it will also be a year of challenges for investors, with a backdrop of uncertainty regarding how the steady withdrawal of Quantitative Easing (QE) will impact economies,, and how sustained the growth story will be in individual countries.
view the Schroders Global Investment Trends Report 2014
Source: Schroder Investment Management Limited
Top 10 Emerging Technologies That Will Reshape the Future
Smarter drugs, super-light cars and computers operated by thought among 10 breakthroughs highlighted
The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies is composed of top experts on new technologies around the world, representing both the academic and business world
February 26, 2014--From super-light cars to smarter drugs, the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has identified the top 10 emerging technologies of 2014 that could reshape the society of the future.
Comprised of leading thinkers from academia and industry, the Council selected the innovations with input both from experts within the Network and after discussions with industry leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2014 in Davos-Klosters. Each innovation was selected for its potential to have a real and positive impact on the world.
The list includes a new technique for extracting metals along with drinking water from the sea, new ways of treating cancer using microbes found naturally in the human body and computer interfaces operated by the power of thought.
view the World Economic Forum Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2014 report
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
Can We Prevent Financial Crises?
February 26, 2014--To answer that question, the World Bank in February held a panel discussion led by authors of three books examining lessons learned from financial crises. Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Group president's special envoy, said the three books can help policy makers examine the current turmoil affecting emerging markets, along with the hypothetical diagnoses proposed by some commentators: distorted asset prices, questionable growth foundations, human behavior, and overborrowing by households and the private sector.
"The underlying cause is the structural problem in the financial system, which distorts incentives to rational human behavior, generates excessive credit growth, distorts prices, and results in overstretched balance sheets," said Asli Demirguc-Kunt, the World Bank's research director and co-author of a report, the Global Financial Development Report 2013: Rethinking the Role of the State in Finance.
Source: World Bank
World Bank-Infographic: Tapping the Market-Expanding Access to Sanitation to the Poor Through the Domestic Private Sector
February 26, 2014--The World Bank-Infographic: Tapping the Market-Expanding Access to Sanitation to the Poor Through the Domestic Private Sector is now available.
Source: World Bank
UPDATE 2-Barclays pulls down shutters on European, U.S. power trading desks
February 25, 2014-Britain's Barclays Plc said on Tuesday it has closed its power trading desks in London and New York, joining a string of global investment banks that are paring down their commodity market activities as increased regulations bite.
Barclays, a top-five banking player in commodities trading which is in the process of shrinking its investment banking activities, said its "core commodities franchise continues to operate business as usual".
Source: Reuters
DAX has been licensed to Nikko Asset Management to underlie passive mutual fund in Japan
February 25, 2014--Deutsche Börse today announced that the DAX index has been licensed to Nikko Asset Management Co. Ltd., a leading independent investment management firm based in Tokyo, to serve as the basis for a passive mutual fund that will be available on March 10.
"DAX is the most trusted and reliable measure of Germany's leading companies and serves as one of the top underlyings for financial products worldwide. The new fund by Nikko Asset Management will allow Japanese investors to access the index's performance," said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited. STOXX Ltd. is also the marketing agent for the indices of Deutsche Börse AG and SIX, including amongst others the DAX index. "This also is a major step in the growth strategy, as Asia continues to be an important market."
Source: Deutsche Börse
BNY Mellon to Acquire Full Ownership of HedgeMark International, LLC
Integrates with and complements the company's Global Risk Solutions capabilities; Meets demand for more transparency and control from institutions investing in hedge funds
February 24, 2014-- BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 65% interest of HedgeMark International, LLC, a current affiliate and a provider of hedge fund managed account and risk analytic services.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. BNY Mellon has held a 35% ownership stake in HedgeMark since 2011.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered New York, HedgeMark assists in the structuring, oversight, and risk monitoring of hedge funds, specifically dedicated managed accounts. More and more, institutional investors globally are using dedicated managed accounts – single investor funds-as a way to invest in hedge funds that allow for greater customization, transparency, liquidity and control.
Source: BNY Mellon
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly-Silver ETPs see Strong Demand as Price Rally Gains Momentum
February 24, 2014--Silver ETPs see strong demand as price rally gains momentum. The silver price has
rallied 12% so far this year, ahead of gold's 10% increase over the same period. Silver is
viewed by some investors as a leveraged version of gold. Since 2000 on average during
months the gold price has increased silver has gained about 1.4 times the gold price
increase.
In 2013 the silver price declined about 1.3 times more in percentage terms than the gold price. This may explain why investors have been building their positions in silver ETPs this year. Silver ETP holdings this year are up about 0.5% to 625 million ounces compared to a year-to-date decline of 1.5% for total gold ETF holdings (though inflows have resumed in recent weeks). Total silver ETF holdings are only 3% below the all-time peak of October of 2013,compared to the 34% decline in total gold ETF holdings (see chart on page 2). While this may be viewed as a potential vulnerability to the silver price rally and should be watched carefully,as long as the silver price holds up,more silver ETP buying is likely. Platinum price supported as platinum stocks run down on extended South Africa labor strike. We are now 23 working days into the strike and producers now only have a few weeks of stocks left. So far 230,000 ounces of production have been taken off the market,equivalent to almost 4% of 2013 global platinum supply. Should the strikes persist for a few more weeks,the price of platinum could react strongly.
Source: ETF Securities
