Americas ETP News
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Hartford Lowers Fees On 6 Smart Beta ETFs
March 13, 2018--Hartford Funds, the exchange traded funds and mutual funds arm of Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG, -0.81% lowered fees on six of its smart beta ETFs, including four multifactor products.
It was nearly two years ago that Hartford Funds acquired Lattice Strategies to bolster its ETF footprint. That deal brought Hartford the ETFs now known as the Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF RODM, -0.17% Hartford Multifactor US Equity ETF ROUS, -0.98% Hartford Multifactor Global Small Cap ETF ROGS, +0.05% and the Hartford Multifactor Emerging Markets ETF ROAM, -0.31%
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Source: Market Watch
BlackRock's Lowest-Cost ETFs Devour Almost Half of U.S. Flows
March 13, 2018--A whopping 44 percent of all flows into U.S.-listed ETFs this year has gone to four low-cost funds from BlackRock Inc.
At the top is the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, known by its ticker IEFA, which has taken in $13.7 billion since Jan. 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Not far behind is the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, or IVV, which has swelled by $12.2 billion. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) and the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) also make the cut, taking in $5.1 billion and $2.4 billion respectively, the data show.
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Source: Bloomberg
AdvisorShares Weekly Market Review-The Bull Market Turns Nine!
March 12, 2018--Highlights of the Prior Week Ending 3/9/2018
Macro
The nonfarm payrolls report was something of a head scratcher. There was a huge upside surprise with 313,000 jobs created. In a sign of confidence, more than 800,000 people entered the workforce causing the headline unemployment rate to remain at 4.1% while the broader U6 printed at 8.2%.
The labor force participation rate reported at 63% and revisions added 54,000 jobs to the last two reports. Somehow though, wages deteriorated, gaining just 0.1% and dropping the year over year number to 2.6%. Remember that last month the yoy number broke out to 2.9% triggering new inflation concerns. Will this report be revised away or are things really that strong?
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Source: AdvisorShares
ALPS to Close an Exchange Traded Fund
March 12, 2018--ALPS, a subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) providing products and services to the financial services industry, today announced the liquidation of one Fund of the Elevation ETF Trust.
The Fund--Summit Water Infrastructure Multifactor ETF (NYSE ARCA: WTRX)--will close to new investors on March 26, 2018 and liquidate on April 2, 2018.
The decision to close the Fund was made by the Elevation ETF Trust's Board of Trustees after consultation with ALPS Advisors, Inc.' the investment adviser to the Fund.
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Source: ALPS
Renaissance Capital Scheduled U.S. IPOs
March 9, 2018--Zscaler (ZS)-San Jose, CA
Deal Size: $110 mil Exchange: Nasdaq
Lead Underwriter: Morgan Stanley
Provides a cloud-based network security service for enterprises..view more
IPO Commentary
Zscaler leads the unicorn charge of 2018-here's what you need to know
Zscaler will be the year's first "unicorn" IPO. The security software provider achieved a $1 billion valuation in 2015. TPG led the $110 million round at $8.97, with equity ratchets that kick in below $11.21. Zscaler is...read more
IPO Index Performance
The Renaissance IPO Index has returned 5.5% so far this year,
compared to 2.4% for the S&P 500.
IPOUSA
IPO Activity
There have been 29 IPOs priced so far this year, a +53% change from last year.
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Source: Renaissance Capital
Thomson Reuters U.S. Fund-Flows Weekly Report: Funds Experience Overall Net Inflows, Driven by Money Market Funds
March 9, 2018--Thomson Reuters Lipper's fund asset groups (including both mutual funds and ETFs) took in net new money of $2.4 billion for the fund-flows week ended Wednesday, March 7. The net inflows were driven by money market funds (+$12.7 billion) and municipal bond funds (+$407 million), while equity funds (-$9.8 billion) and taxable bond funds (-$898 million) saw money leave.
Market Overview
The equity markets suffered through another volatile week, thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcing he would seek to impose tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum. This news sent the markets into a tailspin; the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index fell 1.68% and 1.33%, respectively, the day the tariffs were announced (March 1). For the fund-flows trading week the Dow retreated 0.91% and the S&P 500 gained 0.48%.
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Source: Thomson Reuters
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
March 9, 2018--The current reports for the week of March 6, 2018 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
BlueStar Israel Equity Review & Outlook-Israeli Stocks Continue Gaining on Global Equity Peers
March 9, 2018--A late-January correction in global equities set February off to a volatile start which continued into the first week of March. Despite the backdrop of higher volatility, the BlueStar Israel Global Index is outpacing the MSCI EAFE index by roughly 1.5% in 2018 year-to-date, and 5% since BIGI's November 2017 low;
The Bank of Israel left its policy rate at 0.10% but expects to begin tightening its monetary policy sometime in Q4 2018 as inflation begins to move toward its target zone of 1%-3%; Inflation is expected to return to Israel as a result of its strong growth, a tight labor market and a reinflationary environment in Israel's largest import markets;
Israeli exporters, which comprise roughly 70% of the BlueStar Israel Global Index(R), outpaced domestically-oriented stocks in February as Israeli exports continue to grow, while domestically-oriented stocks sold off more sharply despite a strong earnings season for Israel's leading banks.
Source: Blue Star Indexes
IMF Working Papers-Canada's Carbon Price Floor
March 8, 2018--Summary
The pan-Canadian approach to carbon pricing, announced in October 2016, ensures that carbon pricing applies throughout Canada in 2018, with increasing stringency over time to reduce emissions. Canadian provinces and territories have the flexibility to either implement an explicit price-based system—with a minimum price of CAN $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, increasing to CAN $50 per tonne by 2022—or an equivalently scaled emissions trading system.
This paper discusses the rationale for, and design of, the price floor requirement; its (provincial-level) environmental, fiscal, and economic welfare impacts; monitoring issues; and (national-level) incidence. The general conclusion is that the welfare costs and implementation issues are manageable, and pricing provides significant new revenues. A challenge is that the floor price by itself appears well short of what will be needed by 2030 for Canada's Paris Agreement pledge.
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Source: IMF
U.S. fund manager Breakwave to launch first ETF for shipping futures
February 8, 2018--U.S-based fund manager Breakwave Advisors is launching the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) focusing on freight futures, reflecting growing investor interest in shipping as it emerges from a near-decade long crisis, a regulatory filing showed.
Around 90 percent of traded goods by volume are transported by sea and global shipping sectors-such as dry bulk-are on course for a recovery this year, according to investors and analysts, prompting speculators to look for ways to trade.
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Source: Reuters
