Global ETF News Older than One Year
Global Experts Poll: Economic Confidence Firms in Fourth Quarter, but Gloom Prevails
56% of respondents lacked confidence in global economy in fourth quarter, down from 72%
Respondents in North America more worried about an economic shock than those in Asia
Sixth quarterly Global Confidence Index polled 460 experts from business, government, international organizations and academia who are members of the Forum's Network of Global Agenda Councils
November 12, 2012--Confidence in the state of the world economy firmed up in the fourth quarter, although a majority of respondents to the World Economic Forum's Global Confident Index poll were still pessimistic.
Amid some signs that the slowdown in China has bottomed out, 56% of global experts polled said they lacked confidence in the global economy, sharply down from 72% last quarter.
“The results are indeed an improvement from last quarter's confidence levels, but sentiment overall remains pessimistic,” said Martina Gmur, Senior Director of the Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils. "We still need strategic vision coupled with bold leadership to snap out of this global malaise.”
In a poll of 460 experts, respondents in the Middle East and North Africa were significantly more confident about the global economy than those in North America, Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
view the results of Global Confidence Index survey
Source: WEF(World Economic Forum)
North America leads shift in global energy balance, IEA says in latest World Energy Outlook
November 12, 2012--The global energy map is changing in dramatic fashion, the International Energy Agency said as it launched the 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO). The Agency's flagship publicationm released today in London, said these changes will recast expectations about the role of different countries, regions and fuels in the global energy system over the coming decades.
"North America is at the forefront of a sweeping transformation in oil and gas production that will affect all regions of the world,
yet the potential also exists for a similarly transformative shift in global energy efficiency,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “This year’s World Energy Outlook shows that by 2035, we can achieve energy savings equivalent to nearly a fifth of global demand in 2010. In other words, energy efficiency is just as important as unconstrained energy supply, and increased action on efficiency can serve as a unifying energy policy that brings multiple benefits.”
Source: IEA
IMF-Caucasus, Central Asia Countries Fare Well Despite Some Downside Risks
November 12, 2012--Region's hydrocarbon exporters buoyed by high prices, importers benefit from remittance inflows
High international food prices could rekindle inflation while anemic world growth poses risks to outlook
Policymakers should strive to bolster buffers, reduce inequality, and enhance wealth management
Countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia continue to post a solid recovery from the global financial crisis, and the region’s economic outlook remains favorable, the IMF says in its latest assessment.
The IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia, released November 11, projects growth in the region at an average of about 5½ percent for 2012 and 2013 (see table).
This resilient growth reflects high oil prices that are benefiting the region’s oil and gas exporters, supportive commodity prices and remittance inflows for the oil and gas importers, and, for both groups, moderate direct exposure to Europe, the IMF report says.
view the The IMF Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia
Source: IMF
Index switch hits Vanguard
November 11, 2012--Inflows into Vanguard's largest exchange traded fund have evaporated in the wake of its decision at the beginning of October to switch from tracking an MSCI index to a cheaper FTSE benchmark.
The Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF attracted $1m in net inflows in October, compared with average monthly inflows of $1.3bn between January and September, says the ETF Industry Association.
Source: FT.com
EPFR Global Fund Data Release-Bond Funds move deeper into record setting territory as fiscal cliff looms
November 9, 2012--While US President Barack Obama was promising that "the best is yet to come" in the wake of his re-election victory on November 6 investors were acting as if the worst is far from over.
Flows into EPFR Global-tracked Bond and Money Market Funds hit a record high during the week ending Nov. 7 while Volatility Funds recorded their biggest inflow since the third week of August as investors focused on so-called fiscal cliff facing US policymakers and the Eurozone’s continuing struggle to resolve its four-year-old debt crisis.
Overall, investors steered over $50 billion into Money Market Funds and nearly $10 billion into Bond Funds, pushing the latter’s year-to-date total over the $400 billion mark. Equity Funds took in a net $1.12 billion with Dividend Equity Funds taking in over $900 million despite the implications that Obama’s victory has for their taxation in the US.
Visit http://www.epfr.com/overview.aspx for more info
Source: EPFR
Ex BlackRock chief joins Barclays for sweeping asset management review
November 9, 2012--Rory Tobin, former head of iShares International, has joined Barclays' wealth and investment division to review its asset management capabilities across the business.
In his new role, Wealth Manager understands that Tobin will work with David Semaya to identify pockets of asset management expertise in Barclays and determine whether to combine them or sell them off.
The project comes as part of a wider review of the Barclays business model, spearheaded by the bank’s new chief executive Antony Jenkins (pictured), to help restore the firm’s reputation following the Libor scandal.
Source: CityWire
BATS 1000 Index Tumbles 2.4% This Week
November 9, 2012--BATS Global Markets, a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, reports the BATS 1000® Index (Ticker:Ticker::BATSK) fell 380.66 points, or 2.4%, this week to close at 15,505.16 as of 4 p.m. ET today.
Ten of ten sectors that comprise the index fell for the week, with Utilities and Financials suffering the steepest declines. Industrials and Manufacturing fell the least.
Source: BATS Global Markets, Inc.
Improving the BIS international banking statistics
November 9, 2012--Abstract
This report documents a series of enhancements of the BIS international banking statistics (IBS) that have recently been endorsed by the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) and are designed to make significant and long-lasting improvements to the IBS.
The report provides a short introduction to the IBS and their main uses and discusses the nature and rationale of the forthcoming changes, which have been developed by a group of statistical experts and economists chaired by Werner Hermann (Swiss National Bank). The enhancements will provide a more comprehensive picture of national banking systems' global consolidated balance sheets, allow for a more detailed analysis of vis-à-vis country information, and help to better track banks' funding patterns and associated risks. They will also make national contributions to the IBS more complete and accessible
Source: BIS
ETFGI Global ETF And ETP Industry Insights, October 2012
November 9, 2012--According to ETFGI US$13.5 billion of net new assets (NNA) flowed into global Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in October which is lower than the US$40 billion of net inflows in September 2012. Investors and investments suffered from growing uncertainty in October over the likely outcome of the US presidential election, the impact of the fiscal cliff in the US, the likely impact of superstorm Sandy and the on-going debt concerns in the Eurozone.
US listed ETFs and ETPs which traditionally account for the majority of NNA saw these uncertainties dampen the inflows into ETFs and ETPs listed in the US to just US$2.7 billion or 20% of NNA in October. Globally, ETFs and ETPs providing exposure to North America equities also suffered from these concerns as investors withdrew net outflows of US$10.1 billion.
As the majority of concerns and uncertainties focused on the US, and investments in the US, it did not negatively impact NNA flows in all regions around the world. We saw robust flows into ETFs and ETPs listed in both Europe, which accounted for US$4.6 billion or 34% of total NNA, and in Asia Pacific (ex Japan) which amassed US$4.5 billion or 33.7% of the total. Products listed in Japan, Canada, Middle East and Africa and Latin America accounting for US$1.7 billion.
“The source and composition of the fund flows in October shows that ETFs and ETPs are a product set that are increasingly being embraced by investors around the world and are a very good indicator of how investors are tactically and strategically adjusting their allocations to political, economic and other uncertainties that are impacting the markets” according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI.
At the end of October 2012, the global ETF and ETP industry had 4,694 ETFs and ETPs, with 9,646 listings, assets of US$1.85 trillion, from 203 providers on 56 exchanges. Year-to-date global ETFs and ETPs have gathered US$201.7 billion of net new assets.
Year-to-date through the end of October, equity ETFs and ETPs have gathered the largest net inflows accounting for US$114 billion, followed by fixed income ETFs and ETPs with US$57 billion and commodity ETFs and ETPs capturing US$20 billion.
Equity focused ETFs and ETPs have gathered US$3.2 billion in October and US$114 billion YTD, which is US$23 billion more than the NNA flows they received in all of 2011. In October investors withdrew US$10.1 billion from ETFs and ETPs providing exposure to North American equity indices and invested US$8.8 billion into ETFs and ETPs providing exposure to emerging market equity indices.
Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs received net inflows of US$6.1 billion in October and US$57 billion year to date, which is US$21 billion more than the total net new assets they received in the same period last year. Within fixed income, corporate bond products have gathered the largest net inflows in October with US$3.4 billion, followed by emerging market products with US$1.9 billion.
Commodity products received NNA inflows of US$3.3 billion in October and US$20 billion year to date which is US$5 billion more than full year 2011 NNAs. Precious metals gathered US$2.4 billion in October and US$17.6 billion year to date, followed by broad commodity exposure with US$2.5 billion and US$1.1 billion in energy exposure.
Reviewing the NNA flows for the top 3 ETF and ETP providers globally in October, iShares accumulated US$10.9 billion in NNA and US$61.2 billion year to date which is in excess of their 2011 total of US$53.7 billion. Vanguard was second in the NNA race in October and year to date winning US$3.4 billion and US$46.3 billion respectively. Vanguard’s YTD NNA total of US$46.3 billion is US$10 billion above their full year 2011 NNA total of US$36 billion. SPDR ETFs suffered US$8.4 billion in NNA outflows in October but is still doing well on a year to date basis where they have taken in US$20.8 billion which is nearly the same amount they took in during all of 2011.
Source: ETFGI
Investor caution over US restricts inflows of assets into ETFs
November 9, 2012--Global exchange traded funds and exchange traded products saw net new asset inflows of $13.5bn in October, according to ETFGI, a consultancy established by sector expert Deborah Fuhr. In September 2012, the sector registered net inflows of $40bn.
“Investors and investments suffered from growing uncertainty in October over the likely outcome of the US presidential election, the impact of the fiscal cliff in the US, the likely impact of superstorm Sandy and the on-going debt concerns in the Eurozone,” ETFGI said.
Source: Investment Europe
