Global ETF News Older than One Year
BlackRock to cull 250 funds
Focus switches to products that account for higher proportion of revenues
June 23, 2013--BlackRock plans to cut 250 funds from its range to focus on products that account for a higher proportion of revenues.
The cull is meant to help remedy the fact that the top 50 per cent of BlackRock’s funds currently account for 99 per cent of fund revenues, Rich Kushel, the deputy chief operating officer, told attendees at the fund manager’s annual investor day last week.
Source: Gulf News
Bond market sell-off causes stress in $2tn ETF industry
June 21, 2013--A wave of selling caused many exchange traded funds to tumble below the value of their underlying assets as a bond market sell-off caused stress in the $2tn ETF industry.
ETFs track baskets of underlying assets, such as emerging-market stocks or municipal bonds, but discounts widened sharply on Thursday as dealers struggled to keep up with the sell orders.
Source: FT.com
ETF providers reject 'stress' reports
June 21, 2013--BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors have rejected reports that recent asset market volatility caused "stress" in their exchange traded funds operations.
ETFs have seen significant outflows during June with investors pulling money from funds linked to emerging markets.
Source: FT.com
Bond sell-off causes stress in ETF industry
June 21, 2013--A wave of selling caused many exchange traded funds to tumble below the value of their underlying assets as a bond market sell-off caused stress in the $2tn ETF industry.
ETFs track baskets of underlying assets, such as emerging-market stocks or municipal bonds, but discounts widened sharply on Thursday as dealers struggled to keep up with the sell orders.
Source: FT.com
Golden ratings era ending for emerging markets
June 21, 2013-A decade of improvement in emerging market credit ratings is coming to an end as higher borrowing costs and commodity price falls threaten to lay bare many countries' failure to reform during the good times.
Between 2007 and 2012 emerging economies earned almost 200 rating upgrades from the three main agencies, nearly half of them promotions to the top 'investment grade' category.
Given the weight investors still assign to credit ratings, that was a huge driver for much of the $8 trillion or so that has flowed to emerging stock and bond markets since 2004.
Source: Reuters
Thomson Reuters Global Equities Monthly Market Share Data Reports-May 2013
June 21, 2013--Trading is increasingly fragmented. Find out by how much and which venues in the Thomson Reuters summarised monthly reports.
Source: Mondovisione
FOA and FIA Announce Agreement to Combine Organisations under
June 21, 2013--The Futures and Options Association and the Futures Industry Association today announced an agreement in principle to combine their two organisations under one global structure and brand called FIA Global.
Under this agreement, FIA—with its affiliate FIA Asia—will form a confederation with FOA under FIA Global. This new structure will enable the associations to strengthen their influence on cross-border issues, substantially increase the coordination and information flow between regions, and provide a powerful global voice to express the views of FOA and FIA members.
Source: Futures and Options Association
European hedge funds struggle to break into U.S. market
June 20, 2013--European and Asian hedge fund firms are finding the potentially lucrative U.S. market impossible to ignore, but as tough as ever to negotiate.
Delegates at the annual GAIM conference in Monaco this week talked about the difficulties, particularly for small funds, in attracting new money to an industry once at the top of investors' wish lists.
Source: Reuters
Warming Climate to Hit South Asia Hard with Extreme Heat, Floods & Disease, World Bank Report Says
Effects expected from projected rise in temperature, worse effects if warming is bigger
June 19, 2013--An expected 2°C rise in the world's average temperatures in the next decades threatens South Asia's dense urban populations with extreme heat, flooding, and disease and could trap millions of people in poverty across the region, according to a new scientific report released today by the World Bank Group.
Depicting life in a not-too-distant future shaped by already present warming trends, the report warns that even 20 to 30 years from now, shifting rain patterns could leave some areas under water and others without enough water for power generation, irrigation or drinking. South Asia is already experiencing a warming climate, the report says, that can be seen in warmer periods in India, increasing variability of the monsoon rainfall, more heavy rainfalls and an increase in the number of droughts. Droughts will especially affect north-western India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Source: World Bank
SSgA Enhances Investment Capabilities to Meet Evolving Client Challenges
Dynamic Market Environment Drives Need for New Solutions
June 19, 2013--Investors today face increasingly complex investment challenges, according to State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the asset management business of State Street Corporation.
Confronted with historically low rates, market uncertainty and the challenge of finding returns amid a complex regulatory environment, investors are demanding new investment approaches and strategies from asset managers. To help clients navigate these ever-changing market conditions, SSgA is strengthening its capabilities in both active and passive strategies.
"The markets of today are fundamentally different than those of the past due to the financial crisis and unprecedented monetary intervention, which has impacted investment returns and interest rates," said Scott Powers, president and CEO of SSgA.
Source: State Street Global Advisors
