Global ETF News Older than One Year
Fixed-income ETFs AUM surged to US$1.3tn in June
July 16, 2020--During the worst fits of coronavirus-driven turbulence that hit financial markets earlier this year, critics were quick to lambast fixed-income ETFs, seizing on the large differentials between the funds and their underlying holdings as evidence of their failure.
But according to new figures from BlackRock, the ETFs have emerged from the crisis with more appeal than ever.
In its latest global survey of fixed-income ETFs, the global asset manager found that global fixed income ETFs grew 30% in the past 12 months ended in June, with a final AUM record of US$1.3 trillion. More than four fifths of the growth (84%) came from inflows, with record amounts of investor capital flowing in during the most recent quarter.
Source: wealthprofessional.ca
FSB sets out action to maintain financial stability during COVID
July 15, 2020--The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published a letter from the FSB Chair, Randal K. Quarles, to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ahead of their virtual meeting on 18 July 2020. The FSB also delivered to the G20 a report on the financial stability implications of, and policy measures taken in response to, the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chair's letter sets out a number of areas of focus for the FSB during the COVID Event:
Assessing vulnerabilities during the current crisis. Volatility in markets has decreased but may well return. The FSB has identified a number of priority areas that require further analysis, including, among others, risks related to liquidity stress; the debt burden of non-financial corporates; and effects of credit rating downgrades. The FSB's monitoring provides essential and near real-time input for policymakers to anticipate and address developing risks in the financial system.
Source: FSB
New ETF launches show resilience in face of pandemic
July 15, 2020--Analysts disagree over whether sector is due for a setback as Covid-19 effects are felt more deeply
Covid-19 has paralysed business activity across the globe, but the ETF industry appears to be made of sterner stuff. The pandemic has, so far at least, had a limited impact on the pace of listings of shiny new exchange traded funds.
A lively debate is afoot, however, as to whether the sector has delayed its day of reckoning or whether or not even the worst pandemic for a century can meaningfully disrupt the seemingly endless conveyor belt of new products dreamt up by the industry.
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council-Gold mid-year outlook 2020: Recovery paths and impact on performance
July 14, 2020--Investors have embraced gold in 2020 as a key portfolio hedging strategy. Looking ahead, expectations for a faster recovery (V-shaped) from COVID-19 are shifting towards slower recovery (U-shaped), or potential setbacks from additional waves of infections (W-shaped).
Regardless of the recovery type, the pandemic will likely have a lasting effect on asset allocation. It will also continue to reinforce the role of gold as a strategic asset.
Our new gold market outlook examines how the combination of high risk, low opportunity cost and positive price momentum looks set to support gold investment and offset weakness in consumption from an economic contraction.
Source: gold.org
Investors must prepare portfolios for Covid-19 debt crunch
July 14, 2020--The monetary stress attributable to Covid-19 is much from over. Investors ought to brace for non-payments to unfold far past essentially the most susceptible company and sovereign debtors, in a reckoning that threatens to tug costs decrease.
There remains to be time to get forward of this pattern. Rather than shopping for belongings at valuations stunningly decoupled from underlying company and financial fundamentals, buyers ought to assume much more concerning the restoration worth of their belongings and alter their portfolios accordingly.
Source: universalpersonality.com
BlackRock punishes 53 high-emissions companies over climate inaction, puts 191 more on watch
July 14, 2020--BlackRock has revealed that it took voting action against 53 companies on climate grounds in the first half of 2020, including ExxonMobil and Air Liquide.
The asset manager provided clients with a new report on Tuesday (14 July), outlining how it is ramping up its climate-related engagements with businesses this year.
BlackRock notably changed its investment stewardship targets and processes earlier this year, after joining Climate Action 100+.According to the report, 244 of the companies in BlackRock's portfolios are making insufficient progress integrating climate risks into their business models and/or disclosures.
Of these companies, 53 were found to have repeatedly ignored the climate-related demands of investors. As such, BlackRock took voting action against them, either by calling for executive accountability or backing new shareholder proposals which would lead to stricter environmental requirements.
Source: edie.net
Why Sustainable Food Systems are Needed in a post-COVID World
July 14, 2020--Food systems are essential to economic activity because they provide the energy that we need to live and work. However, macroeconomists have long ignored them in the belief that the global agri-food industry, now highly mechanized, subsidized and concentrated, offers all we could wish for when it comes to food.
2020 will be a year of reckoning for the world's food systems. In just months, COVID-19 shut down half the globe. Images of panic buying, empty grocery shelves and miles-long queues at food banks have suddenly reminded us how important food systems are in our lives and how imbalanced they have become.
Source: IMF
Oil Gains With OPEC Compliance Overshadowing U.S. Demand Fears
July 13, 2020--Saudi oil minister commends Iraq for oil-production curbs
Market turns attention to weekly storage data due Wednesday
Crude futures rose as initial signs that OPEC members intend to comply with promises to curtail production eclipsed fears that a resurgence in coronavirus cases would send demand back to the worst days of the pandemic.
Source: bloomberg.com
CryptoCompare Updates Benchmark for Digital Asset Exchanges: US Venues Retain Top Spots
July 13, 2020--CryptoCompare, the global leader in digital asset data, today announced an update to its cryptocurrency Exchange Benchmark, revealing a new ranking of exchanges based on several criteria including counterparty, operational, trading and security risk.
The Benchmark ranks more than 165 global spot exchanges to bring transparency and accountability to the cryptoasset exchange landscape by providing a framework for assessing risk. The Benchmark assigns a AA- F grade to help identify the lowest risk venues in the industry.
The analysis reveals that US exchanges retain the top spots, with Gemini ranked first. Gemini is followed by Coinbase (2), Kraken (3), itBit (4) and Bitstamp (5).
Source: data.cryptocompare.com
OPEC Readies Next Move in Bid to Avoid Oil-Market Taper Tantrum
July 11, 2020-Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman likes the idea of OPEC+ acting as the central bank of oil. And he expresses admiration for Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The challenge now confronting the oil producers’ club is one that's all too familiar to the Fed: how to avoid a "taper tantrum," the market panic that ensued when the institution proposed tightening monetary policy in 2013.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
