Americas ETP News
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High frequency trading on the wane in Canada
February 7, 2012--Canadian stock markets may be entering a "new regime" as high frequency trading starts to show signs of shrinking its role in share trading, according to a new report from brokerage ITG Canada.
HFTs have been blamed for many ills in the market, from the flash crash to a general increase in trading costs for big institutions that have to trade against them. But there are signs that their influence may have peaked.
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Source: Globe and Mail
Where Best to Compare ETFs
January 7, 2012--Two Websites ace the data you need to compare exchange-traded funds: XTF and
ETFdb have the sharpest tools in the drawer—including illustrated tools that let you search by geographic reach.
As easy as they are to trade, and as cheap as they are to own, it's often hard to see an exchange-traded fund for its metrics.
Think about how hard it is to penetrate any single security's forest of data, times 25 to 700 fund holdings. Then multiple that by three or more funds that qualify as comparable investments.
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Source: XTF
BMO Asset Management Led Canadian ETF Industry in Growth in 2011
February 7, 2012--BMO Asset Management (BMO AM) today announced that its Exchanged Traded Fund (ETF)* business led the Canadian ETF industry in growth in 2011, accounting for $2.3 billion CDN or 49 per cent of the growth of assets under management.**
Further, BMO ETFs, currently a suite of 44 funds, more than doubled in size, increasing from $1.5 billion to $3.8 billion in assets under management in 2011.
"2011 was a tremendous year for us. Much of our success stemmed from our ability to anticipate the specific needs of investors," said Rajiv Silgardo, Co-CEO, BMO Global Asset Management. "Canadians were looking for innovative products that offered security and stability during volatile times, while also searching for yield in a low interest rate environment. We were able to respond with the right mix of offerings."
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Source: BMO Financial Group
Market Vectors Municipal Bond Exchange-Traded Funds Top $1 Billion In AUM
Solid returns and attractive yields seen as driving assets into six-fund lineup that covers all points along yield curve and credit spectrum
Van Eck launches “MUNI NATION”, a muni-focused blog focused on investor and advisor education
February 7, 2012--New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global announced today that its family of municipal bond Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) recently passed the $1 billion mark in combined assets under management (AUM).
“Municipal bonds have emerged into the spotlight after long being one of the quieter corners of the investment landscape, and investors and advisors are seeing their current attractiveness as well as the potential benefits offered by investing through ETFs such as those in our Market Vectors suite,” said Jim Colby, portfolio manager and senior municipal strategist with Van Eck Global. “Historically low yields on Treasuries have made the search for yield far more difficult than it’s been in quite some time. In this environment, we’re pleased to offer a range of funds that span the risk/return spectrum, providing a number of choices for income-focused investors as they build their portfolios.”
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Source: Market Vectors ETFs
BMO Asset Management Led Canadian ETF Industry in Growth in 2011
BMO accounted for almost half of all Canadian ETF growth in 2011 - BMO ETFs also ranked #1 in customer loyalty - Success attributed to products that responded to investor needs during volatile times - Key drivers included income focused and low volatility ETFs.
February 7, 2012--BMO Asset Management (BMO AM) today announced that its Exchanged Traded Fund (ETF)(i) business led the Canadian ETF industry in growth in 2011, accounting for $2.3 billion CDN or 49 per cent of the growth of assets under management.(ii)
Further, BMO ETFs, currently a suite of 44 funds, more than doubled in size, increasing from $1.5 billion to $3.8 billion in assets under management in 2011.
"2011 was a tremendous year for us. Much of our success stemmed from our ability to anticipate the specific needs of investors," said Rajiv Silgardo, Co-CEO, BMO Global Asset Management. "Canadians were looking for innovative products that offered security and stability during volatile times, while also searching for yield in a low interest rate environment. We were able to respond with the right mix of offerings."
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Source: BMO Financial Group
Individual investors’ participation in total volume of ETFs traded on the Exchange in January surpasses 14%
Financial Institutions lead participation in volume
February 6, 2012--Individuals had a 14.4% participation of the total volume of ETFs traded on the Exchange in January. Financial institutions led with a 32.3% participation of the month’s volume, followed by institutional investors (30.5%), foreign investors (19.5%), and public and private companies (3.3%).
ETFs are a simple diversification alternative for investment in equities. The investor can buy a stock portfolio in a single transaction without having to manage each individual share.
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Source: BM&FBOVESPA
BATS Exchange Receives SEC Approval For Innovative Market Maker Program
Competitive Liquidity Provider Program Designed To Incentivize Active Market Making For BATS-Listed Issuers
February 6, 2012 – BATS Global Markets, a global operator of stock and options markets, today announced it had received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement its new Competitive Liquidity Provider (CLP) program.
“As we grow our listings business, we’re creating new and unique ways to make the markets better for today’s issuer and enhance competition in the exchange listings business,” said Joe Ratterman, Chairman and CEO of BATS Global Markets.
“Our Competitive Liquidity Provider program is designed to help improve market quality for issuers and we are excited to bring this innovative program to market.”
The BATS CLP program, which was designed for BATS’ new U.S. primary listings business, is a rewards-based program designed to incent market makers to make tighter quoted spreads with increased liquidity for each listing on BATS. The CLP program particularly benefits small and mid-cap companies who are often challenged by a lack of liquidity in their stock, which can make attracting larger investors difficult.
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Source: BATS Trading
ETF Research Center Reporting Monitor: Reporting Monitor (Week 3): 4Q11 Results Less Than Impressive
February 6, 2012--Highlights
With 58% of firms having reported results, Q4 2011 S&P500 earnings probably grew about 7.3% to $23.79 per share. Tech (XLK) was the largest contributor to profit growth, followed by Industrials (XLI) and Energy (XLE). Three sectors--Financials (XLF), Materials (XLB) and Utilities (XLU)--were a drag on overall index earnings growth.
Sales probably grew only about 4.5% YoY due to considerable drag from Financials. Margins declined vs. Q3 in every sector except Tech and Industrials; Materials were particularly weak both sequentially and year-on-year...
Positive surprises were biggest in the Tech and Industrials sectors, while Financials and Energy had the biggest disappointments. For the S&P as a whole, the size of the (net upside) surprise was the smallest since the profit recovery began in Q1 2009
visit www.etfresearchcenter.com for more info,
Source: AltaVista Research
BM&FBOVESPA:Individual investors’ participation in total volume of ETFs traded on the Exchange in January surpasses 14%
Financial Institutions lead participation in volume
February 6, 2012--Individuals had a 14.4% participation of the total volume of ETFs traded on the Exchange in January. Financial institutions led with a 32.3% participation of the month’s volume, followed by institutional investors (30.5%), foreign investors (19.5%), and public and private companies (3.3%).
ETFs are a simple diversification alternative for investment in equities. The investor can buy a stock portfolio in a single transaction without having to manage each individual share.
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Source: BM&FBOVESPA
An Active Approach to ETFs
Eaton Vance is developing a hybrid ETF that melds aspects of passive investing with active money management. Will the SEC let it fly?
February 6, 2012--While most exchange-traded funds only venture as far as their underlying benchmarks allow, a small yet growing cadre is taking a more freewheeling approach.
So-called actively managed ETFs, for which teams of managers and analysts construct portfolios, attracted slightly more than $5 billion in domestic assets in 2011. That marked a 72% increase from the prior year, but represents only a sliver of the $1.1 trillion U.S. ETF market, says data researcher IndexUniverse.
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Source: Barrons
