Global ETF News Older than One Year
EDHEC-Risk Institute study shows that corporate bonds can be a highly attractive addition to ALM solutions
September 24, 2013--In a paper produced as part of the research chair on "The Case for Inflation-Linked Corporate Bonds: Issuers' and Investors' Perspectives" at EDHEC-Risk Institute, supported by Rothschild & Cie, EDHEC-Risk researchers have provided a comprehensive analysis of the sources of added-value of corporate bonds for institutional investors.
The paper, "Analysing and Decomposing the Sources of Added-Value of Corporate Bonds within Institutional Investors' Portfolios," finds corporate bonds to be attractive additions to investors’ portfolios:
Introducing corporate bonds in performance-seeking portfolios (PSPs) typically generates positive benefits from an asset-liability management perspective since it will lead to substantial improvements in hedging benefits, which come at the cost of a less-than-proportional reduction in performance compared to equity-dominated portfolios.
Introducing corporate bonds in liability-hedging portfolios (LHPs) is also found to generate a positive impact on investor welfare since it leads to improvements in both hedging and performance benefits, especially for investors facing liabilities discounted using a credit spread adjustment.
Source: EDHEC
ETF Securities Precious Metals Weekly- -Precious Metals Rally as Volatility Rises After FOMC
September 23, 2013--Gold and silver surge as the Fed reminds the market US economic conditions remain subpar. The unexpected reluctance by the FOMC to reduce its bond buying program at last week's meeting buoyed precious metals and put pressured the US dollar. As financial markets enter a typically volatile time of the year, the Fed properly noted that recent US unemployment figures have been
disappointing, with Chairman Bernanke specifically mentioning the decline in the labor participation rate to a 35-year low in the post meeting press conference.
Increasing market volatility risks a potentially greater adverse impact on cyclical assets, with the S&P 500 equity benchmark up about 20% on the year. Investors are increasingly likely to look to gold as a portfolio insurance vehicle if volatility continues to gain. Silver was the week’s best performing precious metal, increasing 4.7%, leveraging its high correlation to gold. Gold and silver are likely to remain on tenterhooks until the next US unemployment number but should continue forming a foundation as the need to raise the US debt ceiling or face government shut-down, becomes the primary market focus. Geopolitical issues often boost gold for short duration periods, while sovereign debt issues normally have a longer lasting impact.
Source: ETF Securities
iShares to close 15 funds following Credit Suisse buyout
Firm lowers TER on 12 funds and pledges new "innovative" launches
September 23, 2013--iShares, Blackrock's exchange-traded funds platform, is closing 15 funds and lowering the total expense ratio on 12 others following its acquisition of Credit Suisse's ETF business in July of this year.
According to a statement from iShares, the funds will close due in large part to low investor demand.
Source: ftadviser.com
S&P: Exchanges' glitches put ratings at risk
September 20, 2013--Downgrade warning comes after a series of recent trading-market disruptions have heightened a crisis of market confidence among investors.
A rash of electronic breakdowns like the one that froze trading in Nasdaq-listed stocks for three hours in August could trigger cuts in credit ratings for stock exchanges, ratings agency Standard & Poor's warns in a new report.
Source: USA Today
SPDR -Weekly Market Report
September 20, 2013--ECONOMIES: The Fed holds off on tapering. Housing starts are now trending sideways in the US. Inflation slows in the US, Canada,the UK
and the eurozone. Investor confidence soars in Germany. Industrial activity improves in Japan. The Reserve Bank of Australia is on hold.
Summers removes himself from consideration as Fed Chairman.
MARKETS: The Fed's surprise decision sends equities higher and government bond yields lower. USD is also sharply lower, while gold is up.
Oil is down.
NEXT WEEK PREVIEWED
SPOTLIGHT: Q2 GDP revisions will be reported for the US and UK. Core orders are expected to rebound in the US.
Preliminary Septemberpurchasing managers' indexes will be available for Germany, France, and the overall eurozone. Inflation should edge higher in Japan.
visit http://spdru.com/ to request report
Source: SRDR University
EPFR Global News Release-Fed's decision to stay put caps record breaking week for Equity Funds
September 20, 2013--Flows into EPFR Global-tracked Equity Funds in the days leading up the Federal Open Markets Committee's September meeting suggested that investors-especially institutional ones-the US Federal Reserve to use a light hand when it came to reining in its current quantitative easing program.
As it turned out the FOMC, after months of forward guidance, opted to sit on its hands for at least another month. Among the upshots were new records for flows into those Equity Funds and another record high for the benchmark S&P 500 index.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
ETF 'treasure map' revealed
September 20, 2013--Bank of America Merrill Lynch has emerged as the largest institutional user of exchange traded funds, with holdings of more than $50bn, according to a report that for the first time breaks down the ownership of ETFs.
One of the curiosities of the rapidly growing $2.2tn ETF market is just how little is known about the institutions using these vehicles. Publicly available data on investor types, size and location, the products they use and how these have changed over time has remained a mystery.
Source: FT.com
The World Gold Council further strengthens Investment capability with recruitment of William Rhind as Managing Director, Institutional Investment
September 19, 2013--Following the recent appointments of Kevin Feldman as Managing Director of Investment globally and Robert Alderman as Managing Director, Private Investment, the World Gold Council has further strengthened its investment expertise with the addition of William Rhind as Managing Director of its Institutional Investment programme in the US, a newly created position.
He will be responsible for developing and implementing initiatives focused on expanding the use of SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and other physical gold-backed products, as a portfolio level asset by institutional investors.
Source: World Gold Council
Re-Emerging Markets: Russell Emerging Markets Index Reflects Improvement In Emerging Markets Equity Performance
September 19, 2013--Although emerging markets have underperformed developed global equity markets thus far in 2013, the gap is narrowing, according to Russell Indexes.
And in September to date, emerging markets have actually outperformed developed global markets as illustrated by the Russell Emerging Markets Index and the Russell Global Developed Index.
The Russell Emerging Markets Index lost (-2.4%) year-to-date as of September 17, as compared to a 17.3% return for the Russell Global Developed Index for the same time period.
For the third quarter as of September 17, however, the gap has narrowed. The Russell Emerging Markets Index returned 4.5% as compared to a 5.9% return for the Russell Developed Index. And in September as of September 17, the Russell Emerging Markets Index returned 6.4%, outpacing the Russell Developed Index (4.0%) by nearly 2.5%
Source: Russell Investments
IOSCO confirmed as the Key Global Reference Point for Securities Regulation
September 18, 2013--Members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) met during its Annual Conference this week to discuss how to advance work on global regulatory reform and the identification of emerging risks in securities market.
The meetings were an opportunity for IOSCO to confirm its position as the key global reference point on securities regulation for policy makers, industry and global regulators, in ensuring investors are confident and informed, markets are fair, efficient and transparent and systemic risk is reduced.
Source: IOSCO
