Global ETF News Older than One Year
Myners calls for action over ETP 'stability risk'
August 19, 2013--Former City minister Lord Paul Myners has urged the Financial Conduct Authority to do more to protect financial stability, which he believes could be at risk from the way exchange-traded products track illiquid assets.
In an interview with Financial News, Myners warned that increased trading in ETPs could amplify market volatility in situations such as when redemptions are triggered, leading to sales of the underlying asset. This, in turn, could destabilise markets, particularly where they lack liquidity.
Source: Financial News
Vanguard takes top spots in global sales
August 18, 2013--Vanguard is on track for a bumper year after the world's fourth-largest asset manager took the top three spots in the global fund sales leader board in the first half of 2013, according to Strategic Insight, an asset management research company.
Three of Vanguard’s largest index funds attracted larger inflows than the best selling actively managed fund, the Templeton Global Total Return fund, run by Michael Hasenstab.
Source: FT.com
EPFR Global News Release-Post-recession bounce for Europe fund flows
August 16, 2013--Flows into EPFR Global tracked Europe Bond and Equity Funds hit six and 66 week highs during the second week of August as initial estimates from Eurostat confirmed the end of a recession that has gripped the European Union and Eurozone since 4Q11.
The robust flows into Europe Equity Funds stood out during a week when many investors were on vacation, literally and figuratively, with most major fund groups recording lackluster flows either way.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info.
Source: EPFR
World Gold Council- Gold Demand Trends Q2 2013
August 15, 2013--Executive summary:
Key findings for second quarter 2013 examined by sector and region.
Global Gold Market: Second quarter 2013 review
Jewellery: Multi-year high in the jewellery sector as lower prices generated a surge in demand from consumers.
Investment: Record demand for gold bars and coins was countered by sizeable net outflows from ETFs, resulting in a year-on-year decline in overall investment demand relative to Q2 2012.
Technology: Technology sector saw marginal growth, the 1% year-on-year increase the first in two years.
view the Gold Council- Gold Demand Trends Q2 2013 report
Source: World Gold Council
Silver ETF holdings rise to four-month highs
The amount of silver held by the iShares Silver Trust ETF rose to a four-month high on the back of strong retail interest
August 15, 2013--The amount of silver held by the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust, rose to a four-month high as a sharp price rally in the metal and economic optimism triggered strong retail interest.
According to the latest update on the ETF's website on Tuesday, the tonnage of silver bullion bars held by the U.S. silver ETF increased nearly 60 tonnes, or 0.6 percent, to 10,454 tonnes, the highest since April 11.
Source: MineWeb
Consultative documents on longevity risk transfer markets and point of sale disclosure issued by the Joint Forum
August 15, 2013--The Joint Forum released today two consultative documents.
The first is Longevity risk transfer markets: market structure, growth drivers and impediments, and potential risks.
The ageing population phenomenon being observed in many countries poses serious social policy challenges. Longevity risk - the risk of paying out on pensions and annuities longer than anticipated - is significant when measured from a financial perspective. For example, certain estimates of the total global amount of annuity- and pension-related longevity risk exposure range from USD 15 trillion to USD 25 trillion. At the same time, pension funds are increasingly looking for ways to hedge or transfer this exposure. The Joint Forum is therefore publishing this forward-looking consultative report to draw attention to this issue of increasing importance, to assist in setting appropriate policies and to help ensure effective supervision of related activities and risk.
Source: BIS
ETF Securities Research Update-
August 13, 2013--Key Points:
Record demand for US Mint silver coins, as commercial demand appears to be turning around;
Worst annual plunge since the aftermath of the Hunt Brothers in 1981;
Technical indicators signal potential upside for silver.
For opportunistic investors, the 29% decline of the silver price over the past 12-months represents a potentially attractive entry level. While silver is the worst performing precious metal this year, a closer analysis reveals that silver may have corrected too far and it is poised for future growth. Unlike gold, about 50% of silver consumption is driven by industrial use. Known for being the best conductor of electricity and integral to the electronics industry, demand is likely to remain steady, while new interest from the solar industry also indicates the potential for upward price pressure.
Source: ETF Securities Research
Progress towards implementing the Principles for financial market infrastructures (PFMIs) report issued by CPSS/IOSCO
August 12, 2013--CPSS and IOSCO have today published Implementation of the PFMIs-Level 1 assessment report. The report reviews jurisdictions' progress towards implementing the Principles for financial market infrastructures (the PFMIs), published by CPSS-IOSCO in April 2012 and which includes risk management standards for financial market infrastructures (FMIs) such as central counterparties,
payment systems and securities settlement systems, and trade repositories. This report reviews jurisdictions' progress towards adopting legislation and other regulations and policies that will allow authorities to completely implement the PFMIs into their regulatory frameworks for market infrastructures. Future CPSS-IOSCO assessments will evaluate the consistency of implementation measures in each jurisdiction with the PFMIs and will evaluate consistency of outcomes among FMIs themselves resulting from the application of the PFMIs. CPSS and IOSCO will periodically publish updates to this report to demonstrate progress made towards full implementation.
Source: BIS
2013 Midyear SPDR ETF & Investment Outlook: The Search for Yield Evolves
August 12, 2013--With the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking 15,000 and other markets hitting record highs around the globe, categorizing the market as optimistic seems more than reasonable. But the best performing
global sector, health care, is traditionally considered one of the most defensive.1
What gives? Can the fact that global treasuries’ total returns are negative confirm this sentiment? Commodities are in the red as well. Is this the start of the next great bull market we have all been waiting for? What, if anything, can ETF flows tell us?
2013 ETF INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
With nearly $84 billion of inflows during 2013, investors have
found comfort in equity ETFs, but not at the expense of fixed
income funds which brought in $30 billion this year. While this
may simply be a function of the continued acceptance of fixed
income ETFs by a wider investor base, flows as a percentage of
assets were slightly stronger than equities. Investors were busy
putting capital to work in those asset classes, but commodity
exposure has clearly been out of favor in 2013. Even with a sizable
outflow from commodities, the global ETF industry has seen over
$93 billion of net flows over the first five months of the year.
Source: SSgA
Authorities' access to trade repository data report issued by CPSS-IOSCO
August 12, 2013--The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have today published a report entitled Authorities' access to trade repository data.
Trade repositories (TRs) are entities that maintain a centralised electronic record of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transaction data. TRs play a key role in increasing transparency in the OTC derivatives markets by improving the availability of data to authorities and the public in a manner that supports the proper handling and use of the data.
Source: BIS
