Global ETF News Older than One Year
STOXX Changes Composition Of Benchmark Indices
Regular Annual Review To Be Effective On September 23, 2013
August 27, 2013--STOXX Limited,
the market-moving provider of innovative, tradable and global index concepts, today announced
the new composition of the STOXX Benchmark and their sub-and sector indices, among them the STOXX Europe 600 Index, STOXX North America 600 Index
and STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Index.
As announced previously, the index universe for the STOXX Global 1800 Index and all related sub and sector indices will be changed to cover those countries which are classified as developed markets as defined by the STOXX Emerging and Developed Markets Country Classification. As a result companies listed in the Czech Republic will become eligible for inclusion in these indices, while Chinese Red Chips and companies listed in Iceland will be excluded from the universe from this review on. Furthermore, Croatia is being added to the index universe of the STOXX EU Enlarged Index, since the country joined the European Union on July 1, 2013.
Source: STOXX
FIA Releases Futures Volatility Study
FIA Releases Futures Volatility Study
Study Examines Impact of Structural Changes over Time
Study Finds Limited Impact on Intraday Price Volatility
Study Based on Price Data for 15 Futures Contracts
August 27, 2013--The Futures Industry Association today released an empirical study on changes in the level of volatility in the futures markets. The study
focused on 15 futures contracts listed on four leading futures exchanges-CME Group, Eurex, IntercontinentalExchange and NYSE Liffe.
The study found that prices in these 15 markets moved through cycles of high and low volatility as well as numerous price spikes attributable to macro-economic events. The study found, however, that volatility attributable to structural factors did not change in most of these contracts. In other words, innovations such as algorithmic and high-frequency trading do not appear to have affect ed the volatility of prices.
view Futures Market Volatility: What Has Changed? report
Source: Futures Industry Association (FIA)
Report to G20 Leaders on monitoring implementation of Basel III regulatory reforms issued by the Basel Committee
August 27, 2013--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today published its fourth Report to G20 Leaders on progress made in the implementation of Basel III regulatory reforms. The report has been prepared for the G20 Leaders' Summit in St Petersburg on 5-6 September.
Full, timely and consistent implementation of Basel III has been accorded high priority by the G20 Leaders. This latest report notes substantial progress with respect to: the adoption of the Basel standards by Basel Committee member jurisdictions; the harmonisation of capital regulations across member jurisdictions; and the finalisation of remaining post-crisis reforms that form part of the Basel regulatory framework.
view the Report to G20 Leaders on monitoring implementation of Basel III regulatory reforms
Source: BIS
Macroeconomic impact assessment of OTC derivatives regulatory reforms report issued by the Macroeconomic Assessment Group on Derivatives (MAGD)
August 26, 2013--The Macroeconomic Assessment Group on Derivatives (MAGD) today published a report on the macroeconomic effects of OTC derivatives regulatory reforms.
In this report, the MAGD focuses on the effects of (i) mandatory central clearing of standardised OTC derivatives, (ii) margin requirements for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives and (iii) bank capital requirements for derivatives-related exposures. In its preferred scenario, the Group found economic benefits worth 0.16% of GDP per year from avoiding financial crises. It also found economic costs of 0.04% of GDP per year from institutions passing on the expense of holding more capital and collateral to the broader economy. This results in net benefits of 0.12% of GDP per year. These are estimates of the long-run consequences of the reforms, which are expected to apply once they have been fully implemented and had their full economic effects.
view the Macroeconomic impact assessment of OTC derivatives regulatory reforms
Source: BIS
Exchange-Traded Funds Lose Faith in Emerging Markets
August 26, 2013--Investors' messy breakup with emerging markets continued last week as year-to-date outflows from dedicated emerging market funds swelled to $5.9 billion, according to data provider EPFR Global.
Exchange-traded funds have emerged as a key driver of outflows from the sector this year.
Source: Wall Street Journal
BATS Global Markets And Direct Edge Agree To Merge
Innovative Companies To Join Forces To Enhance Global Exchange Competition
August 26, 2013--BATS Global Markets, Inc. (BATS) and Direct Edge, LLC (Direct Edge) today announced a definitive merger agreement, which will bring together two customer-focused securities exchange operators under the BATS Global Markets enterprise to drive further innovation and better serve investors.
Financial terms will not be disclosed for the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals. Current BATS CEO Joe Ratterman will remain in the same role and current Direct Edge CEO William O'Brien will be President. Bryan Harkins of Direct Edge will join the combined company as an integral member of the senior executive team.
Source: BATS Global Markets, Inc.
Nasdaq error shows need for unified rules
Markets deal well with outages but unified response is needed
August 23, 2013--It has not been a good week to be a computer.
First, a computer error at Everbright Securities was blamed for a $3.8bn flood of orders on the Shanghai market. Then Goldman Sachs unleashed a rogue algorithm that caused chaos through the options market. And the coup de grâce came when a technical glitch caused Nasdaq to shut for more than three hours.
Source: FT.com
SSgA-US ETF Snapshot:July 2013
August 23, 2013--STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS HIGHLIGHTS, JULY 2013
After The Dust Settles: What's Next for Fixed Income?
o With abnormally low yields over the last few years, investors have been on high alert to the potential impact that an unpleasant end to a 30-plus year bull-run in bonds could have on their portfolios. With US 10-Year Treasury yields rising over 80bps since the end of April, many investors are now feeling the pain. While other asset classes may offer greater potential for risk-adjusted returns in today's market, fixed income can and should remain core to investment portfolios due to its potential for income generation, diversification and capital preservation.
Fortunately, there are opportunities available for savvy investors to create resilient portfolios regardless of how far and fast rates may rise over the rest of the year.
GLOBAL ETF LISTING REGION
The United States had over $42.3BN of inflows in the month of July, increasing its year to date inflows to $114.0BN. Europe experienced inflows of $3.2BN in July, increasing its year to date inflows to $7.1BN. APAC and Canada had minor outflows.
GLOBAL PERFORMANCE BY ASSET CLASS
MSCI AC World IMI increased 4.9%, while MSCI EAFE gained 5.3%. Emerging markets returned 1.0%, while,Emerging Markets Small Cap gained 0.3%. US Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap markets were all positive, returning 5.1%, 6.2% and 6.8%, respectively. The Global Aggregate increased 1.3% and the Global Treasury Ex US added 1.9%. The US High Yield, the US Aggregate and the US Corporate Bond markets were all positive in July. The US REIT market was up 0.8%. Commodities were positive, with the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index gaining 1.4% and Gold jumping 10.3%
GLOBAL ETF FLOWS BY ASSET CLASS
Global ETF flows topped $45BN in July. Equity had a leading $41.3BN of inflows. The equity inflows were driven by the developed large cap equity category, which had $18.8BN in inflows. The Commodity asset class had outflows of $2.8BN, most of which came from Precious Metals. Precious Metals has $30.7BN in outflows YTD.
ETF Manager & Fund Detail
The top three families in the Global ETF marketplace were: BlackRock, State Street Global Advisors and Vanguard. Collectively, they account for approximately 71% of the Global ETF market.
visit www.spdrs.com for complete report
Source: SSgA
EPFR Global News Release-Thaw continues for Europe funds but US Equity Funds see biggest outflow since 2Q08
August 23, 2013--With the yield on 10-year US Treasuries making a run at the 3% level in anticipation of the beginning of the end for the Federal Reserve's QE3 program, investors pulled nearly $20 billion out of EPFR Global-tracked US Equity and Bond Funds during the third week of August.
Expectations that the Fed will start winding down its bond buying program at some point in the next two months also kept the pressure on Emerging Markets Bond and Equity Funds while redemptions from US Financial Sector Funds climbed to their highest level since late 1Q09.
Although the outflows from US Equity Funds were the highest in over five years, the overall figure of $12.3 billion for all Equity Funds was tempered by another week of solid inflows for Europe Equity Funds as macroeconomic data continues to illustrate the rebound in that region’s economy.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info.
Source: EPFR
GreySpark Partners-The Global Regulatory Landscape 2013
August 22, 2013--GreySpark Partners present a report exploring the emerging global regulatory landscape, taking an international view of what are often regional requirements. The report, titled The Global Regulatory Landscape 2013: Five Key Regulatory Initiatives Impacting Global Wholesale Finance, is part of the Market Structure and Regulations stream of research
Abstract The report provides an informed and comparative analysis of regulations, both current and emerging, in nine territories: Australia, Brazil, Canada, the EU, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and the US. Regulatory activities in these territories were chosen for their relevance to the global financial regulatory landscape. Within these territories, there are five systemically important regulatory mandates that are explored in the report: financial transactions tax, the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and European Market Infrastructure Regulation, the US’s Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) and the Basel III accords.
Collectively, these regulatory changes create an environment characterised by uncertainty, mismatched objectives and extensive opportunities to misinterpret requirements. As a result of these concerns, three scenarios are points of interest for both regulators and market participants: regulatory avoidance, substituted compliance and regulatory exemptions.
Regulators have sought to determine all potential opportunities for regulatory avoidance and have included measures to close these loopholes. The most prominent regulatory actions are those that require intergovernmental cooperation to ensure compliance; the wide uptake of intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) highlights the desire for cooperation. It is increasingly apparent that regulatory avoidance can only take place beyond the jurisdiction of the US, the EU and the G20 in areas where there is a distinct lack of legal and regulatory momentum makes for an unattractive business and trading environment, thus discouraging moving trading activity to such regions.
Source: GreySpark Partners
