Archive for 2013
Jul 3rd, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
When it comes to international equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs), MSCI appears to be the preferred index provider among institutional investors, according to a recent study by Greenwich Associates. The study, which looked at institutional investors’ deepening relationship with ETFs, found that 88% of US institutional ETF users and 100% of investment consultants name MSCI as their benchmark of choice.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on MSCI preferred index provider for institutional ETF investors
Tags: Emerging and Frontier, ETF and Index News, ETF Industry News, FTSE, MSCI, Vanguard
Jul 2nd, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been around for 20 years. Since the launch of the first ETF in the US in 1993, they have grown into a $2 trillion-plus market. According to Chris Stevenson of Barclays Stockbrokers, the UK’s largest online broker, “few could have imagined how big the concept would become – both as an individual investing opportunity and an investment idea.” Stevenson says the success is down to three main factors – simplicity and transparency, cost efficiency and variety.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on Success of ETFs down to simplicity, transparency, variety and cost – Barclays Stockbrokers
Tags: Equities, ETF Industry News, FTSE, iShares, S&P Dow Jones, SSGA SPDR, United Kingdom, United States and Canada
Jul 2nd, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
By Nicholas Brooks, Head of Research and Investment Strategy, ETF Securities – All good bull markets need a correction. After a twelve-year run, the gold price was well overdue a major correction and this is now taking place, albeit at a much higher velocity than its increase – as is usually the case. The silver price has been dragged down with gold, and platinum and palladium prices have been affected by China growth concerns as domestic liquidity has been squeezed. We believe the price corrections have been excessive and have returned precious metals prices to attractive long-term accumulation levels.
Posted in Commodities |
Comments Off on Precious metals price correction “excessive”, says ETF Securities
Tags: Commodities, ETF Securities, Gold and Precious Metals, Themes and Strategy
Jul 2nd, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
WisdomTree, a US-headquartered provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has launched two new currency-hedged equity funds on the Nasdaq Stock Market: the WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity ETF (DXJS), providing exposure to small capitalisation Japanese stocks, and the WisdomTree United Kingdom Hedged Equity ETF (DXPS), providing exposure to the UK equity market. Both funds come at critical times for their respective currencies – Japanese yen and Pound sterling – relative to the dollar.
Posted in Equities |
Comments Off on WisdomTree introduces currency-hedged Japan small-cap and UK equity ETFs
Tags: Asia Pacific, Currencies, Equities, ETF Industry News, ETF Launch, High Income, United Kingdom, WisdomTree
Jul 2nd, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
Thomson Reuters has added two new indices to its suite of real estate benchmarks developed in partnership with index specialist Global Property Research (GPR) and regional trade body Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA). The Thomson Reuters GPR/APREA Investable 100 Index and Thomson Reuters GPR/APREA Investable REIT 100 Index track the performance of large, liquid developed and emerging market-focused property developers and REITs, respectively.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on Thomson Reuters adds new investable indices to Asia Pacific real estate suite
Tags: Alternatives, Asia Pacific, China, Emerging and Frontier, ETF and Index News, Real Estate
Jul 1st, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
BlackRock’s acquisition of Credit Suisse’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business has formally completed, the asset manager confirmed in a statement. The acquisition cements BlackRock’s iShares platform as Europe’s leading provider of ETFs and comes just days after the UK’s Office of Fair Trading revealed that it would not be referring the acquisition to the Competition Commission. With the deal now complete, all 58 of Credit Suisse’s ETFs have been re-branded and begun trading as iShares ETFs.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on BlackRock iShares completes acquisition of Credit Suisse ETF business
Tags: Credit Suisse, ETF Industry News, ETF Launch, Europe, iShares
Jul 1st, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
Boost, a specialist provider of short and leveraged exchange-traded products (ETPs), has unveiled plans to launch the world’s first short and leveraged ETPs based on the FTSE 250 index. The FTSE 250 tracks the performance of mid-cap stocks traded on the LSE. It consists of the next 250 companies ranked by market capitalisation outside of the FTSE 100 and is seen as a more accurate barometer of the UK economy than the FTSE 100.
Posted in Alternatives / Multi-Asset |
Comments Off on Boost to list world’s first short and leveraged FTSE 250 ETPs
Tags: Boost ETP, Equities, ETF Industry News, ETF Launch, ETNs and ETCs, FTSE, Leveraged and Inverse ETFs, United Kingdom
Jul 1st, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
EDHEC-Risk Institute has taken issue with elements of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) recently published ‘Principles for the Regulation of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)’. The Paris-based financial research institute broadly welcomes the guidelines put forward by the intentional securities regulator, but “deplores the timidity of the organisation’s proposals on index transparency”.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on EDHEC-Risk Institute criticises IOSCO’s stance on ETF index principles
Tags: ETF and Index News, ETF Industry News, Europe
Jul 1st, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
Emerging Global Advisors, a specialist provider of emerging markets-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the EGShares Emerging Markets Dividend Growth ETF (EMDG) on the NYSE Arca. Marten Hoekstra, CEO of Emerging Global Advisors, said: “Many emerging market-based multinational companies have demonstrated their ability to increase dividends. We launched EMDG as an investment tool to enable dividend growth investors to implement their investment strategy in emerging markets and diversify dividend yield sources.”
Posted in Equities |
Comments Off on Emerging Global Advisors launches EGShares Emerging Markets Dividend Growth ETF (EMDG)
Tags: EG Shares, Emerging and Frontier, Equities, ETF Industry News, ETF Launch, First Trust, FTSE, High Income, High Yield, iShares, SSGA SPDR, WisdomTree
Jul 1st, 2013 |
By Simon Smith, CFA
BMO Financial Group’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business has enjoyed blistering growth in the four years since it was formed. Following its debut in June 2009, the Toronto-based business has grown to C$11 billion in assets under management (AUM) and 55 ETFs, offering exposure to equities, bonds and commodities.
Posted in ETF and Index News |
Comments Off on BMO ETFs marks fourth anniversary by surpassing C$11 billion AUM
Tags: BMO, ETF Industry News, United States and Canada