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CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
September 23, 2011--The current reports for the week of September 20, 2011 are now available.
view updates
Source: CFTC.gov
NYSE Euronext Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Carbon Disclosure Project's S&P 500 Leadership Index
Company’s Scores for Both Indexes Rise Year-Over-Year
September 23, 2011--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that for the second consecutive year it has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Carbon Disclosure Project’s S&P 500 Leadership Index. In addition, the company’s scores for both indexes improved year-over-year, reflecting NYSE Euronext’s growing focus on corporate responsibility.
“These are two very important achievements for NYSE Euronext because they validate our core approach: running our business with the highest respect for the environment and for standards of transparency, citizenship and ethical practice,” said CEO Duncan L. Niederauer. “My colleagues and I take these recognitions as a key measure of how well we perform our role in the global community we serve, and we will continue to aspire to do even more. As a global leader in the financial markets and technology space, we have a special obligation in the area of corporate responsibility.” Niederauer added that inclusion in the two indexes illustrates both the environmental and broader aspects of this commitment.
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Source: NYSE Euronext
Morningstar to rate ETF model portfolios
September 22, 2011--Morningstar Inc. is poised to start ranking exchange-traded fund model portfolios, the Chicago-based research firm said at its annual ETF Invest Conference on Thursday.
ETF model portfolios - a way for advisers to provide investors with an actively managed portfolio of exchange-traded funds - have grown in popularity together with ETFs.
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Source: Reuters
Invesco PowerShares to List Chinese Yuan Dim Sum Bond ETF
September 22, 2011 – Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today the PowerShares Chinese Yuan Dim Sum
Bond Portfolio (NYSE Arca: DSUM) is expected to begin trading on Sept. 23, 2011. The Fund will provide
access to Chinese yuan-denominated “Dim Sum” bonds issued and settled outside mainland China. DSUM will have an expense ratio of 0.45% and is expected to issue monthly distributions.
”The Dim Sum bond market offers attractive coupons, and the ability to participate in the appreciation
potential of the yuan over time,” said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global
ETFs. “We believe the PowerShares Chinese Yuan Dim Sum Bond Portfolio provides investors with both
convenient, and low cost1 access to the yuan-denominated debt market.”
The Dim Sum bond market was introduced in 2007 when the People’s Republic of China-incorporated financial institutions were first allowed to issue yuan-denominated bonds offshore. Since then, the market for Dim Sum bonds has seen significant growth, particularly since its deregulation in July 2010. Dim Sum bonds are generally issued in Hong Kong by governments, agencies, supranationals and corporations.
The PowerShares Chinese Yuan Dim Sum Bond Portfolio is based on the Citigroup Dim Sum (Offshore CNY) Bond Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in Chinese yuandenominated bonds that comprise the Index. The Index measures the performance of Chinese yuandenominated “Dim Sum” bonds that are issued and settled outside of Mainland China. The Index includes fixed-rate securities issued by governments, agencies, supranationals and corporations that have a minimum maturity of one year and a minimum size outstanding of 1 billion yuan. The index is managed by Citigroup Index LLC and is reconstituted on a monthly basis.
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Source: Invesco Po0werShares
Investor Appetite For Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) On The Rise, Says New Schwab Study
Forty-four percent plan to invest more; nearly half need more schooling on ETFs
September 22, 2011--Forty-four percent of individual investors surveyed plan to invest more in ETFs over the next 12 months, and eight in ten who currently own ETFs say they will invest more in ETFs over the next two years, according to a new study from Charles Schwab, a retail marketplace leader for ETFs.
The ETF Investor Study by Charles Schwab is an online survey of more than 1,000 individual investors with at least $25,000 in investable assets and familiarity with ETFs. The study was designed to gauge individual investors’ attitudes toward and understanding of ETFs, and how or if they would use them as part of their investment portfolios. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents to the survey own ETFs; while the remainder plan to invest in an ETF in the next two years.
The study shows investors’ appetite for ETFs in several ways: in addition to the 44 percent who plan to invest more, just two percent say they will decrease their ETF investments. According to the study, the boom in interest is driven in part by a distinct set of benefits unique to the product. ETF owners say the biggest benefit of ETFs is that they trade like stocks, while those considering them cite diversification as the top benefit.
But the study also offers insights on the gaps that still exist in investors’ knowledge about ETFs. Forty-six percent of investors surveyed call themselves ETF “novices,” and one-fourth of all respondents indicate that they do not understand their costs or how to best use them. Thirty-one percent of all investors say they don’t know how to use ETFs across asset classes, and more than 25 percent know nothing about the difference between actively managed and index-based ETFs.
“Individual investors are attracted to the efficiency and flexibility of ETFs, but many do not have a solid grasp on how they work,” said Beth Flynn, vice president of ETF Platform Management at Charles Schwab. “As more flavors of ETFs come to market, it is clear that the emphasis on education will be more important than ever.”
ETFs Are Used for Market Access and Asset Allocation
Half of ETF owners surveyed say they use these products to access specific sectors or markets, and 44 percent use them to invest in core asset allocation strategies. Sector ETFs were cited as the type most frequently evaluated for purchase, followed closely by equity and international ETFs. Thirty-four percent of respondents also report interest in commodity ETFs, and more than one in four (26 percent) say they are considering fixed income funds for their next ETF purchase.
view ETF Investor Study by Charles Schwab
Source: Charles Schwab
PowerShares files with the SEC
September 22, 2011--PowerShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Guggenheim launches Yuan Bond ETF
Provides Access to China's Offshore Bond Market
September 22, 2011--Guggenheim Investments announced the launch of the Guggenheim Yuan Bond ETF (NYSE Arca:RMB), a fund that provides access to China's growing Dim Sum bond market. The new offering from Guggenheim will seek to replicate the AlphaShares Yuan Bond Index (the "Index"), which includes bonds that are eligible for investment by U.S. and other foreign investors.
The securities included in the Index are denominated in Chinese Yuan, whether issued by Chinese or non-Chinese issuers and traded in the secondary market, a market commonly referred to as the "Dim Sum" bond market.
"China is increasing the internationalization of its currency and the evolution of the Dim Sum bond market is reflective of that process," said Scott Minerd, Chief Investment Officer, Guggenheim Partners. "The Guggenheim Yuan Bond ETF allows fixed-income investors to participate in these developments and the dynamic growth potential of the Chinese economy."
This Guggenheim ETF provides investors with the opportunity to benefit from the appreciation potential of the Yuan, a currency that previously has been very difficult for investors to access.
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Source: Guggenheim Investments
Brazil reverses policy in real defence
September 22, 2011--Brazil has intervened to defend its plunging currency, the real, against a resurgent dollar for the first time in two years, in a sudden reversal of policy for Latin America`s largest economy.
The collapse of the real, which is now one of the worst-performing emerging market currencies after weakening as much as 4.1 per cent on Thursday, marks a dramatic turnround for a currency that only in July hit a 12-year high against the dollar.
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Source: FT.com
Morningstar to rate ETF model portfolios
September 22, 2011--Morningstar Inc. is poised to start ranking exchange-traded fund model portfolios, the Chicago-based research firm said at its annual ETF Invest Conference on Thursday.
ETF model portfolios - a way for advisers to provide investors with an actively managed portfolio of exchange-traded funds - have grown in popularity together with ETFs.
Morningstar, which defines ETF managed accounts as portfolios of securities where more than 50 percent is invested in ETFs, tracks more than 330 ETF managed portfolios, with about $22 billion in assets. Nearly a third of those were launched over the past three years.
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Source: Reuters
ISE Price Improvement Mechanism (PIM) Now Accepts Tied-to-Stock Orders
Latest Enhancement Demonstrates Fast and Flexible Release Cycle of OptimiseTM
September 22, 2011 – The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced that multi-legged orders that include a stock component can now be entered into its Price Improvement Mechanism (PIM). ISE accepts multi-legged strategy orders of up to eight options legs plus a stock leg.
These latest enhancements underscore the new OptimiseTM system’s capability to support a faster time-to-market for upgrades than ISE’s previous trading platform.
“With the new streamlined release cycle for Optimise, we will be able to deliver functionality and performance enhancements more quickly and seamlessly to our member firms,” said Boris Ilyevsky, Managing Director of ISE’s options exchange. “By upgrading PIM to now accept orders that include a stock component, we have further strengthened our industry-leading capabilities for trading multi-legged orders and are delivering yet another benefit of our new trading system.”
In addition to functionality changes, the latest Optimise release also delivered several performance enhancements to further improve the latency profile of the system. With Optimise, new releases are backward compatible, minimizing any technology changes required by member firms.
Multi-legged orders for PIM, like all other ISE crossing orders, can be entered via PrecISE Trade®, FIX and ISE’s Direct Trading Interface (DTI) application. For more information, contact ISE Business Development at bizdev@ise.com.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
