Global ETF News Older than One Year
Natixis buys Chicago boutique and plans new fund launch
October 17, 2012--French firm Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM) has acquired US boutique McDonnell Investment Management and will launch a new fund focused on the municipal bond sector.
The Chicago-based boutique runs $13.5 billion for both retail and institutional investors and is a bond specialist with products covering a range of sectors such as 'core' bonds and municipal bonds.
The US firm also advises on three municipal bond funds and has a private investment fund which offers exposure to global bonds.
Source: CityWire
NYSE Euronext and Taiwan Futures Exchange Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Exchanges Enter Into Agreement To Connect Trading Communities
October 16, 2012--NYSE Euronext (NYX) and the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore bilateral business opportunities and connect their respective customer bases in Asia, Europe and the U.S. through NYSE Euronext's order routing system.
This alliance will support the development of the exchanges’ futures and options markets.
The agreement will serve as a framework for closer cooperation between the exchanges in order to develop innovative products, establish a two-way order routing partnership to facilitate reciprocal order flow and explore distribution channels for key products. The exchanges also intend to share information, best practices and resources.
Source: NYSE Euronext
ICE Inks Markit Deal to Base Futures on Credit-Swap Indexes
October 16, 2012--Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) obtained the right to link futures contracts to credit-default swap indexes owned by Markit Group Ltd., the largest creator of the derivative instruments in the $25 trillion market.
The gauges, to reference London-based Markit’s North American and European corporate credit swap measures, are expected to be available in the first quarter, Atlanta-based Intercontinental said in a statement today. Other details of the futures contracts, such as the exact Markit indexes to be referenced or the terms of the deal, weren’t disclosed.
Source: Bloomberg
State Street adds assets despite drop in revenues
The world's second largest custodian has hailed its "continued resilience" after assets under management grew 8%, although revenues and net profits both fell in the third quarter.
October 16, 2012--Total revenues fell 3.2% from the second quarter to $2.3bn for the three months to the end of September. They were down 2.7% compared with the same period last year. Net profit fell 4.3% to $473m, compared with the second quarter. Profit was down 0.6% from a year earlier.
The decline in revenues came from several areas, including services associated with its custody business. Revenues from foreign exchange trading fell by 10.9% to $115m compared with the second quarter, and were down 43.6% from last year's third quarter. The custodian said foreign exchange trading revenue was hit by the lower volatility, although this was partially offset by increased volumes.
Source: Financial News
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly:Quantitative easing not fully priced in, but external trigger needed for further gains
October 15, 2012-- Precious metals waiting for an external trigger
South African gold supply constraints keep prices high
Key events to watch this week: European heads of state summit
Precious metals waiting for an external trigger. If history is a guide, we should see further price upside for precious metals following last month’s announcement of a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) by the Fed. Six months after the initial announcements of previous rounds of quantitative easing, the gold price rose on. Since the announcement of QE3, physical gold has risen only 2.3% and physical silver only 2.6%. The likely next trigger for precious metals to move higher is a formal request by Spain for a bailout. This would open the way for the ECB to buy Spanish sovereign bonds in the secondary market on a potentially “unlimited” basis, making investors think twice before shorting Spanish bonds and taking immediate pressure off peripheral European sovereign markets.
It also would likely improve depositor confidence in Spanish banks and help reduce capital flight. Such developments would likely benefit the Euro (weaken the US dollar) and boost risk appetite. Precious metals, particularly the higher beta “white” metals, will likely perform well under such a scenario. In the meantime, since it is difficult to predict when Spain will ask for a bailout, markets remain on edge – particularly as net speculative futures longs are looking stretched for some of the metals and prone to short-term correction. Therefore, while the latest QE appears not to have been fully priced in, an external trigger, such as a Spain bailout request may be necessary to driven the next leg of the bull market.
South African gold supply constraints keep prices high. South African gold miners rejected the industry’s latest wage offer last Thursday, prolonging strike action and constraining gold supply from one of the world’s largest producing countries. The strike action is holding back an estimated 32,000 ounces of gold a week of production at Anglo Gold Ashanti and 2,300 ounces a day at Gold Fields.
Approximately 41% of South Africa’s gold output is idled. The Chamber of Mines which is leading discussion with unions is set to meet again today. If mining companies are forced to lay off illegally striking employees, supply will be hampered for some time to come. Although gold prices fell during the week, supply concerns are a supporting factor helping to keep gold prices above $1765/oz.
Key events to watch this week: European heads of state summit.
visit www.etfsecurities.com for more info
Source: ETF Securities
World Federation of Exchanges elects Andreas Preuss as new Chairman
October 15, 2012--At its annual meeting in Taipei, the General Assembly of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has elected Andreas Preuss, Deputy CEO of Deutsche Börse AG and Eurex CEO, to be its new Chairman.
Preuss will lead the global exchange association for the next two years in addition to his responsibilities at Deutsche Börse Group.
Ronald Arculli, Director Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, has headed the federation for the past two years. The General Assembly has also appointed a CEO for the first time. Hüseyin Erkan is taking on this role.
Source: Eurex
HKEx CEO: LME Buy Will Bring New Commodity Products.
October 15, 2012--Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.'s deal to buy the London Metal Exchange will lead to new commodity offerings and provide the best opportunity for exposure to Chinese growth and liberalization, Hong Kong Exchanges, Chief Executive Charles Li said Monday.
The London Metal Exchange is primarily a marketplace for base metals such as copper and aluminum. The Hong Kong Exchanges group, or HKEx, is one of the world’s largest exchange owners by market capitalization.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Dalian Commodity Exchange and NASDAQ OMX Sign MOU
New Partnership Will Build Cooperative Opportunities in China and Globally
October 15, 2012--Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) and The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) (Nasdaq OMX) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on October 15 in Taipei, with an aim to seek new business opportunities on a global scale as well as substantial business exchanges and cooperation in more fields.
DCE President & CEO Liu Xingqiang and NASDAQ OMX Vice Chairman Sandy Frucher were present at the signing ceremony.
Liu said: "Through exchanges and cooperation with NASDAQ OMX, DCE will be able to keep up with the latest trends of technology innovation in the global leading markets. Signing of the MOU has laid a solid foundation for further cooperation with NASDAQ OMX. This new partnership for DCE will establish an in-depth and sustained strategic partnership with NASDAQ OMX to make new progress in technology innovation and opening-up."
Source: NASDAQ OMX
iShares to Launch Core Series ETFs for Long-Term Buy-and-Hold Investors
October 15, 2012--BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) announced today that its iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, the world's largest manager of ETFs1, is launching a series of initiatives to enhance the value proposition it delivers to investors both in the U.S. and globally. These initiatives include:
Major New Brand Initiative Highlights Why Professional Investors Choose iShares for their ETFs
iShares and BlackRock Integrate U.S. Retail Sales Teams, Greatly Expanding iShares Reach
Creating the iShares Core Series, a suite of 10 U.S. ETFs designed for the needs of long-term, buy-and-hold investors that combines competitive pricing with diversified, tax-efficient products using premier index providers.
Launching a major, multi-pronged global brand initiative which recognizes that every investor is unique and communicates the advantages of using the products that eight out of 10 large professional investors choose for their ETFs.2
Integrating the iShares and BlackRock U.S. retail sales teams, creating the largest retail field force in the U.S. asset management industry, to offer financial advisors and distribution partners a fully integrated combination of index and active products and solutions for today's investors.
Source: BlackRock
FIF September 2012 Market Share and Market Dynamics Executive Summary
October 13, 2012--The September 2012 FIF Market Share and Market Dynamics Reports-Executive Summary is now available.
Source: Financial Information Forum (FIF)
