Americas ETP News
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Van Eck Announces Acquisition of a Hedge Fund Beta Business
July 19, 2012--On June 29, 2012, Van Eck Associates Corporation acquired a Hedge Fund Beta business and team from Lyster Watson & Company, and will be offering a suite of strategies called Trackers.
Trackers are hedge-style "beta" strategies based on indexes developed using a patented methodology and proprietary intellectual property. Each index seeks to capture the beta of a specific hedge fund strategy, and the Trackers team focuses only on those hedge fund strategies whose returns can be statistically replicated using tradable risk factors represented by US-listed ETFs. The team believes that not all hedge fund strategies are conducive to this approach.
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Source: Van Eck Global
ProShares Launches First Geared Australian Dollar ETFs
Joins Popular Geared Euro and Yen ETFs
July 19, 2012--ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange traded funds (ETFs), announced today the launch of ProShares Ultra Australian Dollar (NYSE:GDAY) and ProShares UltraShort Australian Dollar (CROCF), the first ETFs in the U.S. providing magnified or inverse exposure to the Australian dollar. The ETFs list on NYSE Arca today.
GDAY seeks to provide 2x the daily performance of the U.S. dollar price of the Australian dollar, before fees and expenses.
CROC seeks to provide -2x the daily performance of the U.S. dollar price of the Australian dollar, before fees and expenses.
“The Australian dollar is one of the world’s most actively traded currencies,” said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Capital Management, the sponsor of the funds. “We are pleased to offer investors additional ways to manage risk or potentially take advantage of moves in this widely followed currency market.”
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Source: ProShares
Gross Returns to Form as Flagship ETF Doubles
July 18, 2012--Pimco has doubled the size of its flagship exchange traded fund in less than two months, hitting $2 billion in assets as performance of the Total Return Fund ETF outpaces the far larger mutual fund on which it is based.
Rapid growth for the ETF, which was launched on March 1 – a widely watched experiment in active management in a market built on passive index following – reflects continued investor preference for bond funds over equities.
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Source: CNBC
iShares launches CPD webinar course for financial advisers
July 18, 2012-- iShares, the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) platform of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) has launched an accredited continuous professional development (CPD) webinar course, to help advisers increase and formalise their knowledge of ETFs ahead of the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
iShares' CPD course will support advisers in filling qualification gaps and consists of three 30 minute modules, available within the Adviser ETF resources microsite at uk.ishares.com. The first module provides an overview about ETFs and their relevance for financial advisers. Subsequent modules provide information on the different types of ETF structures on the market, how to select the right ETF and incorporating them within a portfolio. They have been accredited by both the Institute of Financial Planning and the Chartered Insurance Institute, with advisers earning 0.5 CPD hours and 20 CPD credits for undertaking each module.
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Source: Total Investor
ETRACS Adds Alerian MLP Index ETN to Its Suite of MLP-Related ETNs
July 18, 2012--UBS announced that today is the first day of trading on the NYSE Arca for the ETRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN (NYSE: AMU) linked to the Alerian MLP Index (the "Index").
The ETRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN (the"ETN") offers investors:
Access to the popular Alerian MLP Index (NYSE: AMZ).
Exposure to a portfolio of 50 energy Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”) through a single, exchange-traded security.
Income potential in the form of a variable quarterly coupon linked to the cash distributions, if any, on the MLPs in the Index, less investor fees.1
Straightforward tax administration, as the coupons associated with the ETN are reported as ordinary income on Form 1099, therefore eliminating the administrative burden associated with K-1 tax forms.2
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Source: ETRACS
BlackRock plans to counter ETF competition
July 18, 2012--BlackRock plans to step up its response to the aggressive price competition of Vanguard in the US exchange traded funds market.
Speaking at the second quarter results presentation on Wednesday, Larry Fink, chief executive of the world’s largest fund manager, acknowledged that Vanguard had won market share in some “core” US listed equity ETFs due to its aggressive price competition.
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Source: FT.com
Beige Book -Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District
July 18, 2012--Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and based on information collected before July 9, 2012. This document summarizes comments received from businesses and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials.
Reports from most of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July. The Atlanta, St. Louis, and San Francisco Districts reported modest growth, while Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas described economic activity as advancing moderately. The New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland Districts noted that activity continued to expand, but at a slower pace since the last report, while Richmond cited mixed activity.
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Source: FBR
CFTC's Division of Market Oversight Issues Temporary No-Action Relief to Non-Clearing Swap Dealers to Comply with Large Trader Reporting Requirements for Physical Commodity Swaps and Swaptions
July 18, 2012--Swap Dealers that are Not Clearing Members Must be Fully Compliant with the Commission's Reporting Requirements no later than 60 Days after the Commission's Deadline for Entities to Apply to be Registered as Swap Dealers
July 18, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today announced the issuance of temporary no-action relief for reporting by non-clearing member swap dealers under the CFTC's large trader reporting requirements for physical commodity swaps and swaptions.
This temporary relief is intended to provide sufficient time for non-clearing member swap dealers to transition to fully compliant reporting by 60 days after the Commission’s deadline for entities to apply to register as swap dealers. Any party relying on this relief must state that it is doing so in an e-mail to DMO: submissions@cftc.gov or SwapsLTR@cftc.gov, no later than the swap dealer registration application date.
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Source: CFTC.gov
GENCAP Ventures, LLC Purchases Factor Advisors, LLC
July 17, 2012--GENCAP Ventures, LLC has purchased Factor Advisors, LLC, a provider of SEC 1933 act listed Exchange-traded funds. There are currently five spread trade commodity funds listed on the NYSE under the tickers FSA, FSG, FSE, FSU and FOL. Further, the firm is a registered Commodity Pool Operator (CPO), which gives it the ability to offer a broad range of futures based products.
GENCAP will offer white label exchange-traded products for clients interested in entering this large and important segment of the asset management market. Recently hired CEO, Sam Masucci said: "We are excited about the acquisition of Factor's 1933 act ETF funds. GENCAP will lead the marketplace by offering a comprehensive ETF development and management platform for its clients. We have already received significant interest from clients wishing to bring SEC 1933 act and 1940 act ETF funds to market on our platform. Ultimately GENCAP will offer the broadest range of ETF products and services in the asset management and indexing marketplace."
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Source: GENCAP
State Street to Acquire Goldman Sachs Administration Services
Acquisition Expected to Make State Street Leading Hedge Fund Administrator Globally
July 17, 2012--State Street Corporation, one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, announced today that it has agreed to acquire Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS), a leading hedge fund administrator, from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in a cash transaction with a total purchase price of $550 million, subject to certain adjustments.
Pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be finalized early in the fourth quarter of 2012. State Street expects the transaction to be accretive in the first full year of operation on a cash basis. Through dedicated teams globally, State Street provides a comprehensive suite of middle office, fund administration, risk analytics and credit services to hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and institutional investors. State Street's Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) team has more than 3,000 employees in multiple offices around the world.
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Source: State Street Corporation
