Global ETF News Older than One Year
50 MSCI Hong Kong MPF Indices now available
New Indices Provide Broader and More Diverse Market Coverage
September 30, 2013--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, has announced the launch of the MSCI Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Indices, which reflect the current investment restrictions imposed on MPF funds by the Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA)(1),including the minimum 30% Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) exposure requirement.
"Since their inception in 2000, the Hong Kong MPF schemes have grown in size and complexity, so it is not surprising that many participating firms are keen to see more innovation in the provision of relevant MPF indices," said Theodore Niggli, Managing Director and Head of the MSCI Index Business in Asia Pacific. "In addition to providing an extensive family of MPF indices, we are also introducing a novel index construction methodology that eliminates the need for expensive foreign exchange hedging to comply with the 30% minimum HKD exposure. We believe that the MSCI Hong Kong MPF Indices will be adopted not only for benchmarking purposes, but will also help in the creation of lower cost fund structures."
Source: MSCI
Money market investors balk at reforms
September 30, 2013--For years, the leanest manufacturers have relied on "just in time" shipments of supplies from all around the globe, sometimes to the point that parts go straight from the loading dock to the assembly line.
Companies no longer waste money funding expensive stockpiles, but they are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions like the Japanese tsunami in 2011.
Source: FT.com
EPFR Global News Release-EM and Municipal Bond Funds break water but US fiscal battles casting a longer shadow
September 27, 2013--With 'tapering' on ice, diplomatic initiatives dominating headlines about the Middle East and macroeconomic data from China, Europe and the US tending towards the positive, investor risk appetite climbed several notches during the fourth week of September.
Emerging Markets Bond Funds posted inflows for the first time since mid-May, commitments to High Yield Bond Funds jumped to nine week high and net flows into Emerging Market Equity Funds since Sept. 6 pushed past the $6 billion mark.
As the week progressed, however, the rebound in risk appetite lost momentum as investors focused on the latest stand-off over the US federal budget and debt ceiling. Flows into US Money Market Funds hit their highest level since late December while over $7 billion flowed out of US Equity Funds.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
Over 3,300 institutional investors in 50countries reported holding ETFs/ETPs in 2012, according to ETFGI
September 27, 2013--A new research report from ETFGI, the London based independent ETF and ETP research and consulting firm, finds that 3,367 institutional investors in 50 countries reported holding Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and/or Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in 2012.
ETFGI's Institutional Users of ETFs and ETPs 2012 report* examines and profiles the number and types of ETFs and ETPs being used by institutional investors globally from 2005 through 2012.
"We have seen a significant increase in the use of ETFs/ETPs by institutional investors. From 2005 to 2012 there was a 92% increase in the number of institutions that reported using ETFs/ETPs, going from 1,752 institutions globally in 2005 to 3,367 in 2012" according to Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI.
Source: ETFGI
Bestinvest recommends switch from iShares to Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
September 26, 2013--Bestinvest has awarded a three-star rating to competitor Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF after recommending a switch away from iShares' S&P offering.
Earlier this week Bestinvest had criticised iShares' fee revamp on its S&P 500 offering.
The switch in recommendations was made following a review of the Vanguard product's pricing structure, including internal and external costs.
Source: Investment Week
iShares cuts fees as price pressures mount
September 26, 2013--BlackRock has reduced the total expense ratio on a number of its exchange traded funds as pricing in the ETF industry is squeezed by competition, analysts say.
The US asset manager's ETF subsidiary, iShares, is harmonising fees as part of the integration of the ETF business it recently bought from Credit Suisse. Some legacy Credit Suisse funds were cheaper than their iShares counterparts.
Source: FT.com
FTSE Announces 2012 Annual Country Classification Review Results
September 25, 2013--FTSE Group ("FTSE"), a leading global index provider, has announced the results of its Annual Country Classification Review-2012.
This year, the FTSE Policy Group has not reclassified any countries but has added two further countries to the current Watch List of seven countries being considered for promotion or demotion between FTSE's market classifications: Argentina is listed for possible removal from the Frontier classification while Mongolia is under consideration for possible inclusion in the Frontier category
Source: FTSE
Basel III monitoring results published by the Basel Committee
September 25, 2013--The Basel Committee today published the results of its Basel III monitoring exercise. The study is based on the rigorous reporting processes set up by the Committee to periodically review the implications of the Basel III standards for financial markets.
The results of previous exercises in this series were published in March 2013, September 2012 and April 2012.
A total of 223 banks participated in the current study, comprising 101 large internationally active banks ("Group 1 banks", defined as internationally active banks that have Tier 1 capital of more than €3 billion) and 122 Group 2 banks (ie representative of all other banks).
view the full report-Basel III Monitoring Report
Source: BIS
EDHEC-Risk Institute study shows that corporate bonds can be a highly attractive addition to ALM solutions
September 24, 2013--In a paper produced as part of the research chair on "The Case for Inflation-Linked Corporate Bonds: Issuers' and Investors' Perspectives" at EDHEC-Risk Institute, supported by Rothschild & Cie, EDHEC-Risk researchers have provided a comprehensive analysis of the sources of added-value of corporate bonds for institutional investors.
The paper, "Analysing and Decomposing the Sources of Added-Value of Corporate Bonds within Institutional Investors' Portfolios," finds corporate bonds to be attractive additions to investors’ portfolios:
Introducing corporate bonds in performance-seeking portfolios (PSPs) typically generates positive benefits from an asset-liability management perspective since it will lead to substantial improvements in hedging benefits, which come at the cost of a less-than-proportional reduction in performance compared to equity-dominated portfolios.
Introducing corporate bonds in liability-hedging portfolios (LHPs) is also found to generate a positive impact on investor welfare since it leads to improvements in both hedging and performance benefits, especially for investors facing liabilities discounted using a credit spread adjustment.
Source: EDHEC
ETF Securities Precious Metals Weekly- -Precious Metals Rally as Volatility Rises After FOMC
September 23, 2013--Gold and silver surge as the Fed reminds the market US economic conditions remain subpar. The unexpected reluctance by the FOMC to reduce its bond buying program at last week's meeting buoyed precious metals and put pressured the US dollar. As financial markets enter a typically volatile time of the year, the Fed properly noted that recent US unemployment figures have been
disappointing, with Chairman Bernanke specifically mentioning the decline in the labor participation rate to a 35-year low in the post meeting press conference.
Increasing market volatility risks a potentially greater adverse impact on cyclical assets, with the S&P 500 equity benchmark up about 20% on the year. Investors are increasingly likely to look to gold as a portfolio insurance vehicle if volatility continues to gain. Silver was the week’s best performing precious metal, increasing 4.7%, leveraging its high correlation to gold. Gold and silver are likely to remain on tenterhooks until the next US unemployment number but should continue forming a foundation as the need to raise the US debt ceiling or face government shut-down, becomes the primary market focus. Geopolitical issues often boost gold for short duration periods, while sovereign debt issues normally have a longer lasting impact.
Source: ETF Securities
