Global ETF News Older than One Year
Bank, Donors Take Long-Term View on Food Security
April 22, 2010--Across the globe, more than 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night- a number exacerbated by the 2007-08 food price crisis.
While the global price spike is abating, grain stocks remain low and food prices are forecast to be, on average, 10-20% higher through 2018, compared to the 1997-2006 average. Food price volatility-impacted by volatile fuel prices-continues to hurt farmers in food-insecure nations, who are often ill-equipped to manage their crops against market uncertainty.
Against this background, the World Bank Group is set to become trustee of a new fund aimed at reducing global hunger and poverty by focusing on food security and agriculture.
The United States, Canada, Spain, the Republic of Korea and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will together provide about $900 million in support to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). The World Bank will serve as trustee and host of a coordination unit for the fund, and if requested, as a supervising entity.
Source: The World Bank
FTSE RI chief Will Oulton to leave the company
April 20, 2010--Will Oulton, director of Responsible Investment at FTSE, the index group, is leaving the company.
The company has announced internally that Oulton will depart at the end of April. His destination is not yet known, although it is believed that he will stay in the sustainable investment space
FTSE has not yet made public who will replace Oulton as director of RI and the company could not be reached at the time of going to press.
Source: Responsible Investor
Master ETF Database Subscription Service Launched by Global Strategy Board
April 19, 2010--Global Strategy Board, the independent international research firm and a leading provider of ETF databases for institutions and individuals has announced the expansion of its popular knowledge product, the Master ETF Database.
The Database contains precise categories for research purposes and is one of the most comprehensive and accurate ETF databases available. Subscribers to the service will receive the current edition of the Database, the current edition of the Master ETF Directory, as well as regular e-mail updates highlighting the dynamic changes in the ETF marketplace.
Source: Globl Strategy Board
NASDAQ OMX Announces First Quarter and Year-to-Date Global Index Group Report
April 19, 2010--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the first quarter and year-to-date activities report for the NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group. The Global Index Group creates and licenses indexes, which are the basis of financial instruments, and provides full-service index support to financial product issuers, sponsors and investors.
Business Highlights
-- The NASDAQ Stock Market(R) (NASDAQ) began trading on February 11 two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to provide leveraged and inverse
exposure to the NASDAQ-100 Index(R) (NDX).
The following ETFs are
sponsored by ProShares:
-- ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ)
-- ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ)
On March 22, the NASDAQ-100 Index became the benchmark for the first foreign index-linked financial product in China. The Guotai NASDAQ-100 Fund is open for subscription by Guotai Asset Management Co., Ltd., one of the original asset managers in China, and is now available to investors in China.
Nordea Bank launched on March 10 four new Bull and Bear Certificates based on the NASDAQ-100 Index and the OMX Helsinki 25 (OMXH25). The certificates are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
World Bank’s IFC issues first $200m green bond
Move builds on success of World Bank green issuances.
April 19, 2010--The International Finance Corp., the World Bank’s private-sector lending institution, has issued its first Green Bond to raise funds to support climate-friendly projects in developing countries. The move builds on the success of the World Bank’s Green Bonds which have attracted investment from pension funds including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, Sweden’s AP2 and AP3 pensions buffer funds.
Similarly, Sweden’s SEB will be the manager for the new four-year, $200m (€148m) fixed-rate bond. Proceeds from the issue will be set aside in a separate “green account” for investing exclusively in renewable energy, energy efficient, and other climate-friendly projects in developing countries, the IFC said.
Source: Responsible Investor
Balancing risk and reward sustainably in the BRICS
While the long-term rewards are evident, there are significant risks to investing in these economies short- term. However, with sound risk management strategies in place, supported by ethical business principles and environmental and social policies, foreign companies working in the BRICs, and in partnership with domestic companies overseas, are poised to benefit from their projected phenomenal growth over the next decade. Even before the global economic and financial crisis, the growth potential of the BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China – was luring investors from across the globe. In 2003, two years after the concept was founded by Goldman Sachs chief economist, Jim O’Neill, economists were predicting that by 2040 the BRICs economies together could be larger than the G6 in US dollar terms.
Source: Responsible Investor
ETF Landscape: Industry Highlights - End March 2010
We also celebrate the 20th anniversary since the launch of the very first ETF globally. Twenty years ago on 9 March 1990 the first ETF was listed in Canada on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX): the TIPs (Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund) tracking the TSX 35 Index. It was followed by the HIPs (Hundred Index Participation Fund) tracking the TSX 100 Index on 26 September 1995. Ten years ago on 7 March 2000, the TIPs and HIPs ETFs were merged into the iUnits S&P/TSE Index Participation Fund (XIU CN): an ETF that was originally listed on 4 October 1999. Global ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* The global ETF industry had 2,131 ETFs with 4,133 listings, assets of
US$1,081.9 Bn, from 123 providers on 42 exchanges around the world.
European ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* The European ETF industry had 910 ETFs with 2,579 listings, assets of US$233.7 Bn, from 36 providers on 18 exchanges.
* Net new assets into European domiciled ETFs/ETPs totalled US$11.5 Bn YTD, with Emerging Market equities receiving US$2.3 Bn net inflows, followed by Asia Pacific equity with US$1.9 Bn and Commodities with US$1.7 Bn net new assets YTD.
United States ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* Net new assets into US domiciled ETFs/ETPs totalled US$8.9 Bn YTD, with Fixed Income receiving US$10.1 Bn net inflows, followed by Global (ex-US) equities with US$1.9 Bn net new assets while North American equities experienced US$2.4 Bn net outflows.
Canada ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* The Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF industry had 159 ETFs with 255 listings, and assets of US$40.6 Bn from 53 providers on 13 exchanges.
Japan ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* The Japanese ETF industry had 70 ETFs with 73 listings, and assets of US$27.3 Bn from six providers on two exchanges.
Latin America ETF and ETP Industry end March 2010:
* The Latin American ETF industry had 21 ETFs with 231 listings, and assets of US$9.3 Bn from three providers on three exchanges.
Source: Global ETF Research & Implementation Strategy Team, BlackRock
Accounting rules deadline under threat
The Group of 20 leading industrialised nations last September pledged support for a global set of accounting standards to improve capital flows and cut down on cross-border arbitrage in response to the financial crisis. They set a deadline of June 2011.
Source: FT.com
iShares Eclipses $500 Billion in Assets Under Management
iShares, celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, was founded in 2000 and has grown to be a leading fund family and has significantly impacted the financial services landscape and how investors view and utilize funds. Today, retail and professional investors use iShares ETFs to access broad and specific segments of the market and they continue to be attracted to the benefits that include tradability, transparency, diversification and cost- and tax-efficiency. This new milestone follows a strong 2009 for iShares and ETFs as they pushed further into the investing mainstream. "iShares ETFs have significantly impacted the way people invest by providing investors with access and liquidity to markets around the world, and achieving this $500 billion AUM milestone greatly validates the acceptance of iShares ETF offerings," said Michael Latham, Head of US iShares. "iShares continues to help drive global ETF industry growth by educating financial intermediaries and the investing public about iShares as core investments, continuing the development of innovative, solutions-oriented products and expanding the availability of iShares via 401(k) and other platforms."
iShares has 434 ETFs globally as of March 31, 2010. iShares US has 201 funds with US$409 billion AUM and iShares Europe has 172 ETFs with US$100 billion AUM.
Source: BlackRock
NYSE Arca Europe To Launch U.S. Equities
This service will provide trading firms the first-ever opportunity to trade U.S. securities on a European platform during European trading hours with settlement at DTC. Initially, S&P 100 stocks will be admitted to the platform; however, further stocks are likely to be introduced in the near future.
Virginie Saade, Head of NYSE Arca Europe, said “Our clients have shown a strong interest in being able to trade U.S. stocks through NYSE Arca Europe, seeing this as a good business opportunity. As part of NYSE Euronext, we have been able to leverage the Group’s knowledge and experience of the U.S. market, as well as our relationship with EuroCCP, to help unlock the U.S. stocks for our European clients for the first time, at low cost. This is an opportunity for us to create the first transatlantic trading platform and is an important step towards becoming a truly global MTF.”
Source: NYSE Arca Europe
April 19, 2010--As the world slowly emerges from the global economic and financial crisis, businesses and governments are realising that the global economic and financial landscape has changed and that they must adapt to this new environment. As consumption in advanced economies remains stunted, increasing attention is focused upon the potentially vast consumer market in the BRICs, which many are hoping will play a key role in driving global demand and pulling the world out of recession.
April 15, 2010-Highlights
We celebrate the 10th anniversary of ETFs in Europe as the first ETFs to launch in Europe were the iShares DJ STOXX 50 (EUN1 GY) and iShares DJ Euro STOXX 50 (EUN2 GY) on 11 April 2000 on the Deutsche Boerse, followed by the iShares FTSE 100 (ISF LN) on the London Stock Exchange extraMARK segment on 28 April 2000.
* The US ETF industry had 814 ETFs, assets of US$736.3 Bn, from 29 providers on two exchanges.
* The Canadian ETF industry had 132 ETFs, assets of US$32.8 Bn, from four providers on one exchange.
April 14, 2010--Accounting standard setters have said they could fail to meet a timetable for the creation of a single global set of accounting rules because they are so far unable to agree on how to value financial instruments, one of the most controversial issues of the crisis.
April 14, 2010--BlackRock, today announced its Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) platform, iShares, has reached global Assets under Management (AUM) of US$509 billion as of March 31, 2010. This is a significant milestone for the business that continues to drive the ETF industry's rapid growth and accounts for nearly half of the industry's total assets under management.
April 14, 2010--NYSE Arca Europe today announced that it will admit U.S. equities to its trading platform when it launches the components of the S&P 100 Index for trading during the second quarter of 2010, creating the first truly transatlantic trading platform. EuroCCP, will offer clearing services for these securities with settlement taking place via EuroCCP’s account at The Depository Trust Company (DTC), the U.S. central securities depository and subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), providing trading firms with a cost-effective posttrade solution.
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