Global ETF News Older than One Year
ESMA consults on new CRA transparency requirements
February 11, 2014--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a Consultation Paper setting out the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) required for the implementation of the CRA3 Regulation (Regulation).
The draft RTS, which complements the existing regulatory framework for credit rating agencies (CRAs), cover:
disclosure requirements on structured finance instruments (SFIs);
the European Rating Platform (ERP); and
the periodic reporting on fees charged by CRAs.
view the ESMA Consultation Paper On CRA3 implementation
Source: ESMA
BlackRock ETP Landscape-Outflows Amid Volatility
February 10, 2014--Non-US Developed markets Equity ETP strength helps offset US and Emerging Markets outflows.
Global ETP outflows of ($9.7bn) during January were driven by Equity redemptions of ($10.8bn) and diverged from the strong starts seen in the past two years. However, investors continued to turn to the industry to efficiently execute their market views during a volatile month for stocks.
The bright spots for flows in January were in non-US Developed Markets Equity, which gathered $11.2bn as a number of key themes from 2013 continued into the new year.
Concerns over Emerging Markets as well as US valuations and earnings impacted January flows. These concerns also led to stock market declines worldwide, with volatility likely to increase from historical lows going forward.
Source: BlackRock ETP Landscape Research
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly-Gold and Silver Bounce Back
February 10, 2014--US payrolls disappoint again, driving gold price higher. Many analysts described the
weak US December employment number (released January 10th) as a 'one-off,' likely to be revised for the better with the January figure. That failed to occur last Friday as January
employment disappointed again.
Many analysts quickly blamed the extreme cold weather expecting yet better data next month. Despite that, US rates and the dollar came off and the gold price rallied. Both 1-month gold forward rates (GOFO) and the futures curve moved into negative territory last week. As the chart below shows, these conditions occur rarely (and usually unwind quickly), but they do indicate tightness in the physical gold market. After the sharp price declines last year it appears that investors are warming to gold again as it is recognized that global economic recovery is unlikely to be a straight-line and gold potentially provides portfolios with protection against further growth or financial disappointments.
Silver rallies along with gold and industrial metals last week. Precious metals were little changed last week, with the exception of silver, which increased 2.9% for a year-to-date gain of 1.9%. Physical silver ETF's saw inflows last week as investors increasingly constructive view of gold, together with silver's traditional high correlation to the gold price but much higher volatility (nearly double over the past ten years) appears to be attracting investors. Silver has the additional benefit of having around 60% of its demand come from industry, therefore making it a potential beneficiary of rising global growth in 2014.
Source: ETF Securities
ETFGI Global ETF and ETP assets suffer a 3.2 percent decline in January 2014 based on net outflows of 7.6 billion US dollars and market performance
February 10, 2014--In January 2014, global ETF/ETP assets fell by 3.2% to US$2.32 trillion based on negative market performance and net outflows of US$7.6 billion, according to preliminary findings from ETFGI's January 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report. January was a difficult month for emerging and developed equity markets.
"Concerns about economic uncertainty and unrest in emerging markets, a fear that US stocks are over bought and uncertainty over the impact of Fed tapering caused investors to take net outflows of US$7.6 billion from ETFs/ETPs in January 2014", according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI.
Equity ETFs/ETPs experienced the largest net outflows with US$11.8 billion, followed by commodity ETFs/ETPs with US$1.9 billion, while fixed income ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with US$2.9 billion.
Source: ETFGI
EY Global ETF Survey-A new era of growth-January 2014
February 10, 2014--The EY Global ETF Survey-A new era of growth report is available.
view the EY Global ETF Survey-A new era of growth-January 2014
Source: EY
ETFGI monthly newsletter, January 2014
January 10, 2014--Global ETF and ETP assets suffer a 3.2 percent decline in January 2014
In January 2014, global ETF/ETP assets fell by 3.2% to US$2.32 trillion based on negative market performance and net outflows of US$7.6 billion, according to preliminary findings from ETFGI's January 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
January was a difficult month for emerging and developed equity markets.view more
Source: ETFGI
ETFs respond to market changes
February 10, 2014--Sir, John Authers, in "Emerging markets are not being well served by ETFs" (February 3), attempts to make the case that exchange traded funds are the cause of recent outflows from emerging markets.
This argument provides a catchy headline, but it is quite naive. ETF assets respond to changes in markets; they don’t cause them. And emerging markets have always been more volatile than developed ones. For investors, this is the point. It is what drives the dynamics of risk and return.
Source: FT.com
EPFR Global News Release- US Equity Funds see record outflows as institutional investors shift to Bond Funds
February 7, 2014--Institutional redemptions from EPFR Global-tracked US Equity Funds and commitments to US Bond Funds both set new records in dollar terms going into February as markets around the world continue to struggle with the shift in US monetary policy, China's slower growth and the cautious tone of the latest corporate earnings forecasts.
This 'mini-rotation' by institutional investors between US-dedicated fund groups underpinned a new inflow record for all Bond Funds and a new outflow record for all Equity Funds during the week ending Feb. 5. Collective outflows from all Equity Funds totaled $28.3 billion, with Emerging Markets Equity Funds accounting for a fifth of that total, while a net $14.7 billion flowed into Bond Funds.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
SPDR Weekly Report
February 7, 2014--ECONOMIES:
Unemployment falls in the US and Canada. The Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and the Reserve Bank of Australia leave administered rates unchanged.
MARKETS: US hits its debt ceiling again but emerging markets remain the primary concern for investors. Equities are mixed. G7 government bonds see their safe haven bids erode. AUD jumps. Gold and oil are up.
NEXT WEEK PREVIEWED
SPOTLIGHT: Retail sales are expected to begin the year flat in the US. GDP should rise moderately in Germany, France, Italy and the
overall eurozone. Unemployment likely edges higher in Australia.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
US
It seemed that the January EMPLOYMENT REPORT would be difficult to interpret. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) incorporated new population controls in the household survey and benchmark revisions in the establishment survey. In addition, a polar vortex created unseasonably cold weather across much of the country, and the Congress failed to extend emergency unemployment benefits. But, it’s unclear
that these had much of an impact. The effects of the new
population controls were "negligible." And the benchmark
revisions boosted payrolls by (an unadjusted) 347,000 (0.3%)
in March 2013. The Labor Department estimated that
inclement weather kept 262,000 from work, which is less than
December and little different from last year. And there were
no untoward moves in the household data to suggest that the
ending of the emergency benefits had much effect. So, we
were left with a generally weak report that contained enough
pockets of strength to prevent a change in the Fed’s course.
For more information, including product fact sheets and related whitepapers:
Source: SSgA
ESMA tells firms to improve their selling practices for complex financial products
February 7, 2014-The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an Opinion on practices to be observed by investment firms when selling complex financial products to investors. ESMA is issuing this opinion to remind national supervisors and investment firms about the importance of requirements governing selling practices under MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive).
ESMA is issuing this Opinion as it is concerned that firms' compliance with the MiFID selling practices when selling complex products may have fallen short of expected standards. The concerns relate mainly to the suitability and appropriateness of complex products that are increasingly within the grasp of retail investors. The Opinion sets out ESMA’s minimum expectations with respect to the conduct of firms when selling complex products to retail investors.
Source: ESMA
