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BlackRock-ETFs: A Call for Greater Transparency and Consistent Regulation
October 6, 2011-Viewpoint
Introduction
For more than twenty years, exchange traded funds (ETFs) have allowed
investors—both individual and institutional—to gain access to a broad range of asset classes using a low cost, transparent investment vehicle that can be easily traded on an exchange. ETFs are investment products that can help individuals build a nest egg, prepare for retirement, or save for their children’s education. They also help institutions such as large pension plans, foundations and endowments meet their financial obligations.
Like all securities, ETFs are regulated by various government agencies in
different countries around the globe. Over the last decade, innovations in the
financial industry, in part driven by technology, have changed capital markets
significantly and have affected the way all securities, including ETFs, trade.
Regulations, however, may need to further adapt to the rapid changes in the marketplace.
At the same time, some financial institutions have launched a variety of new products that trade on exchanges which are also referred to as “ETFs.” However, some of these new products may provide less transparency than traditional ETFs that hold physical securities and may inadvertently introduce additional risk for the investor arising from the management, construction and performance characteristics of these products. With the proliferation of these new products, critics have questioned whether existing regulations ensure that investors fully understand what they are buying and fully appreciate the risks and costs. The industry has much work to do to address such criticisms, including the development of new regulations regarding transparency.
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Source: BlackRock
ProShares Launches First Geared Natural Gas Futures ETFs
Expands Lineup of Geared Commodity ETFs to 10
)October 6, 2011--ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange traded funds (ETFs), today announced the launch of ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas (NYSE: BOIL) and ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas (NYSE: KOLD), the first ETFs in the United States providing magnified or inverse exposure to natural gas futures.
ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas seeks to provide 2x the daily performance of the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex, before fees and expenses. ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas seeks to provide -2x the daily performance of the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex, before fees and expenses. The ETFs list on NYSE Arca today.
"There has been strong demand for geared commodity ETFs, as investors have come to recognize the importance of commodities as part of their alternatives allocation," said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Capital Management, the sponsor of the funds. "We are pleased to introduce the first geared ETFs designed to help investors manage risk or act on their views on natural gas.”
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Source: ProShares
BlackRock unit iShares focused on ETFs
October 6, 2011--BlackRock Inc. became a Wall Street behemoth by serving institutional clients. Now the world's largest money manager is devoting more of its time to individual investors.
As part of that plan, the New York firm is looking to its iShares unit in San Francisco to attract more financial advisers and individual investors in the retail market - rather than the pensions, endowments and institutions that serve as BlackRock's main customers.
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Source: sfgate.com
PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Portfolio
Fundamental Index® Strategy Outperforms Russell 2000® and S&P 600, Market-Cap-Weighted Indexes over Five-Year Period
October 6, 2011--Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a leading provider of exchangetraded
funds (ETFs) with more than $52 billion in franchise assets, today announced the five-year anniversary of
the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Portfolio (NASDAQ: PRFZ).
The PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Portfolio is part of the first retail suite of investment products to
provide investors access to the passive Research Affiliates® Fundamental Index (RAFI®) methodology. This
award-winning index methodology uses four fundamental measures of company size: book value, cash flow,
sales and dividends, to select and weight index constituents. By using four fundamental factors rather than one, the RAFI methodology is thought to be a more robust means of capturing a company’s true economic footprint.
Since inception, the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Portfolio has outperformed its market-capweighted benchmarks, the Russell 2000 and S&P 600Indexes. For the five-year period ending Sept. 30, 2011, PRFZ achieved a cumulative total return of 9.11% based on NAV, significantly outperforming the S&P 600 Index which had a total cumulative return of 1.34%. The Russell 2000 Index gained 4.98%, and the Russell 2000 Value Index had a cumulative total return of -14.47% over the same five-year period. (Source: Bloomberg)
“We are pleased to celebrate the five-year milestone for the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Portfolio (PRFZ), which has delivered on its goal of providing investors improved risk-adjusted returns compared to cap-weighted benchmarks,” said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. “PRFZ along with its US large-cap complement, the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 Portfolio (PRF) have both established a five-year track record demonstrating the effectiveness the RAFI Fundamental Index methodology over varying market cycles.”
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Source: Imvesco PowerShares
“Regulatory Reentry”-Speech of Commissioner Bart Chilton to the Cadwalader Energy and Commodities Conference
October 6, 2011--Introduction
It’s good to be with you today. Thanks for having me. Thanks especially to Greg Mocek for the invitation. Greg was the CFTC’s able Director of the Division of Enforcement when I arrived at the Agency in 2007.
I remember the first time I visited him in his office. His walls were covered in framed news clippings of all the great cases we had prosecuted while he was Director. All those things should probably be displayed in some criminal justice museum or something.
And, I want you to know, we are carrying on your great work, Greg. Just today, it was announced that our Division of Enforcement brought 99 enforcement actions in the last fiscal year. That’s more than ever. And more than ever it’s a sign of how closely markets need to be policed. These cases included fraud, manipulation, Ponzi schemes, trading abuses and other violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. I think that especially when the economy is shaky, the swindlers swarm, but we are catching them and keeping our markets safer as a result.
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Source: CFTC.gov
iShares files with the SEC- iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility Index Fund.
October 6, 2011--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility Index Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC-iShares MSCI All Country World Minimum Volatility Index Fund
October 6, 2011----iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares MSCI All Country World Minimum Volatility Index Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC-iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund
October 6, 2011--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund.
view fiing
Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC
October 5, 2011-iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with SEC for the The iShares 2019 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere-Shifting Winds, New Policy Challenges
October 5, 2011--Despite the recent deterioration in the global economic environment, projections for the region involve only a modest worsening of the outlook. The October 2011 Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere cautions, however, that there are severe downside risks.
. A sharp slowdown in Asia, for example in response to a recession in advanced economies, could impact commodity prices, with negative effects on Latin American commodity exporters. With global monetary policy likely to remain accommodative, capital flows could exacerbate overheating and amplify vulnerabilities in emerging markets. Countries with strong real linkages to the United States face a somewhat weaker outlook and should give priority to reducing public debt. Although much of the Caribbean is recovering from a prolonged recession, the outlook remains constrained by high public debt and weak tourism flows. This issue finds that policies can play an important role in mitigating the economic impact of terms-of-trade shocks, and underscores the need to rebuild policy buffers.
view the Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere
Shifting Winds, New Policy Challenges
Source: IMF
