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S&P may face action over CDO ratings
US SEC considers action against Standard & Poor's for giving top ratings to mortgage-backed investments shortly before they imploded in the financial crisis
September 26, 2011--US regulators have warned credit rating agency Standard & Poor's they are considering taking action over its rating of mortgage-backed investments ahead of the 2008 financial meltdown.
It would be the first time a ratings agency has been called to account by a US regulator since the credit crisis.
S&P's parent company McGraw-Hill confirmed it has received notice that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering action over ratings the agency gave to portfolios of mortgages and other debts known as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) dating back to the financial crisis.
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Source: Guardian.co.uk
Northern Trust Launches FlexShares Family of Exchange Traded Funds
September 26, 2011 —Northern Trust, a leading provider of financial services for institutions and individuals, announced today the launch of FlexShares, a new family of exchange traded funds based on indexes created and maintained by Morningstar, Inc. and Markit. Four ETFs are now available, each designed to provide flexibility to construct, allocate and manage portfolios according to real-world goals
The FlexShares funds available on the New York Stock Exchange include:
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund
FlexShares Morningstar U.S. Market Factor Tilt Index Fund
FlexShares iBoxx 3-Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund
FlexShares iBoxx 5-Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund
"FlexShares represent Northern Trust's global expertise in asset management, investment solutions and risk management," said Shundrawn Thomas, head of Northern Trust's Exchange Traded Funds Group. "With $684 billion in assets under management, Northern Trust has deep connections to sophisticated investors, and FlexShares reflect our insights into investor needs in an evolving marketplace. FlexShares are designed to help construct and manage portfolios that seek to achieve investor goals, while offering all the traditional benefits of ETFs."
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Source: Northern Trust
Morgan Stanley-US ETF Weekly Update
September 26, 2011--Weekly Flows: $6.5 Billion Net Outflows
ETF Assets Stand at $960 Billion, down 4% YTD
Launches: 9 New ETFs
Direxion to Make ETF Changes & Close Airline ETF
Rydex Assumes Guggenheim Name
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
After five consecutive weeks of net inflows, ETFs posted net outflows of $6.5 bln last week
Net outflows last week were primarily driven by US Equity ETFs (combined $10.7 bln net outflows)
Fixed Income ETFs have exhibited net inflows for six straight weeks ($7.8 bln net inflows over the six weeks)
ETF assets stand at $960 bln, down 4% YTD amid weak equity markets
13-week flows were mixed among asset classes; combined $17.6 bln net inflows
Fixed Income ETFs up $10.9 bln; US Sector & Industry ETFs down $5.1 bln
We estimate ETFs have generated net inflows 23 out of 38 weeks in 2011; net inflows of $72.3 bln YTD
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
Despite having significant European exposure, the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA) posted net inflows of $3.0 bln, the most of any ETF; shares outstanding reached a recent high in EFA
After generating net inflows of $6.3 bln during the week of 9/12/11, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) more than
gave it back last week, posting net outflows of $7.8 bln
8 out of the 10 ETFs to exhibit the largest net outflows last week were US equity-based
US-Listed ETFs: Change in Short Interest
Data Unchanged: Based on data as of 8/31/11
IWM exhibited the largest increase in USD short interest since last updated
$1.1 billion in additional short interest
Highest level of shares short for IWM since 5/31/11
SPY exhibited the largest decline in USD short interest since last updated
$4.0 billion in reduced short interest
Despite SPY’s lower levels of shares short compared to 8/15/11, SPY’s shares short remain near an all-time
high
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Source: Morgan Stanley
ProShares files with the SEC
September 26, 2011--ProShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the ProShares 30yr Rising Inflation
ProShares 10yr Rising Inflation
ProShares 30yr Falling Inflation
ProShares 10yr Falling Inflation
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
September 26, 2011--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes:
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX:IFC) has completed the acquisition of AXA Canada. The relative weight of Intact Financial Corporation will increase in the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped Composite, the S&P/TSX Equity and Capped Equity, the S&P/TSX Capped Financial, the S&P/TSX Completion and Equity Completion and the S&P/TSX Composite Dividend indices to reflect this issuance of Intact Financial shares.
These changes will be effective after close on Monday, October 3, 2011.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Source: Standard & Poor's
SE Partners with UBS to Launch Two New Exchange Traded Notes ETNs Based on ISE's Solid State Drive Index
September 23, 2011--The International Securities Exchange (ISE) has launched the ISE Solid State Drive™ Index (Ticker: BYT), a benchmark that allows investors to track companies actively involved in the solid state drive segment of the electronic storage industry. To be eligible for inclusion in the index, companies must either produce finished solid state drives or supply components used to manufacture solid state drives.
ISE has also partnered with UBS to launch two exchange-traded notes linked to this new index: ETRACS ISE Solid State Drive Index ETN (Ticker: SSDD) and the ETRACS Monthly 2xLeveraged ISE Solid State Drive Index ETN (Ticker: SSDL).
These are the first such ETNs providing investors with exposure to this segment of the electronic storage industry. Both products began trading on NYSE Arca on September 15, 2011.
“The launch of the ISE Solid State Drive Index and these respective ETNs demonstrates the ongoing development of our successful collaboration with UBS,” said Kris Monaco, Head of New Product Development at ISE. “These additions to our product offering of both strategy-based and futures-based indexes further expand our portfolio of indexes that serve as actionable investment strategies for exchange-traded products (ETPs).”
These two new products are part of a portfolio of four UBS-issued ETNs based on ISE indexes. There are currently 15 ETPs based on ISE’s proprietary indexes, including 11 ETFs. Aggregate assets under management (AUM) for the associated funds is approximately $1 billion.
Historical index values, real-time pricing information and methodology guides for ISE indexes are available on ISE’s website at www.ise.com/index.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Millington Securities files with the SEC
September 23, 2011--Millington Securities, Inc. has filed an amended ion for exemptive relief with the SEC for the files with the SEC for the Millington Exchange Traded MAVINS Fund-actively-managed ETFs.
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