Americas ETP News
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“NOT ALL END-USERS ARE CREATED EQUAL”
Remarks of Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia, Reval Annual Client Conference
May 11, 2011-Good morning. I would like to thank Jiro Okochi for inviting me to speak today. I know that I don’t have to tell you that the Commission has been extraordinarily busy. I’m proud of the effort that the staff is making to fulfill the regulatory mandates of the Dodd-Frank Act. To date, the Commission has put forward 66 proposed and final rules under Dodd-Frank. Not counting the last four rule proposals the Commission voted on, we’re at over 1,046 dense, Federal Register pages filled with legal jargon and regulatory requirements.
If you were to run the comment periods on all of those proposals consecutively, it would take 2,964 days, or a little over 8 years. I doubt I have to give those numbers much context; they speak for themselves.
The title of my speech is “not all end user are created equal” and I believe the Commission should take this into account as we develop our rules and apply standards that reflect these differences. I would like to cover three main topics today: (1) Who are the end-users?; (2) What did Congress say about the treatment of end-users?; and (3) How do our rule proposals treat end-users?
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Source: CFTC.gov
BMO ETFs Change Prospectus Disclosure
May 11, 2011--- BMO Financial Group today announced that, because of regulatory uncertainty surrounding the definition of "market index", it will be changing the prospectus disclosure for the following BMO Exchange Traded Funds (BMO ETFs)*, which will no longer be referred to as index participation units:
BMO Energy Commodities Index ETF
BMO Agriculture Commodities Index ETF
BMO Base Metals Commodities Index ETF
BMO Precious Metals Commodities Index ETF
BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Banks Index ETF
Further information about BMO ETFs can be found at www.bmo.com/etfs.
BMO ETFs are managed and administered by BMO Asset Management Inc., a portfolio manager and a separate legal entity from the Bank of Montreal.
Source: BMO Financial Group
Schwab ETF Investor Snapshot: Q1 2011
$121B in ETF Assets, up 32%
May 11, 2011--Highlights
ETF assets custodied at Schwab grew to $121 billion, up 32% over the past year. Retail Investor ETF assets have grown 58% and now account for 37% of the total ETF assets at Schwab. In Q1 2011, assets in International Fixed Income ETFs have decreased 57% while US Fixed Income ETF assets have increased 15%.
12-month ETF flows were driven equally by Retail Investors and RIA Clients (each 47% of annual net flows). During the past quarter, US Equity and Sector ETFs dominated flows, capturing a combined 68% of all ETF net flows.
Retail Traders’ share of positive ETF flows have decreased in the past year, led in Q1 2011 by outflows from International Equity ETFs (-35% net ETF flows for Retail Traders).
to request more info
Source: Scharles Schwab
SEC Seeks Public Comment to Assist in Study on Assigned Credit Ratings
May 10, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today published on its website a request for public comment on the feasibility of a system in which a public or private utility or a self-regulatory organization would assign a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) to determine credit ratings for structured finance products.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandated that the SEC study assigned ratings as part of a broader examination of credit ratings.
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC Publishes Notice Regarding Inflation Indexing Of Performance Fee Rule - Commission Proposes To Remove Private Residence From Rule's Net Worth Standard
Commission Proposes to Remove Private Residence From Rule's Net Worth Standard
May 10, 2011-- The Securities and Exchange Commission today provided public notice of its plan to raise certain dollar thresholds that would need to be met before investment advisers can charge their clients performance fees. The SEC seeks public comment on the plan, which would satisfy a requirement of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Currently, Rule 205-3 under the Investment Advisers Act allows an adviser to charge its clients performance fees in certain circumstances. Two of the circumstances are:
The client has at least $750,000 under management with the adviser.
The adviser reasonably believes the client has a net worth of more than $1.5 million.
Section 418 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the SEC to issue an order to adjust for inflation these dollar amount thresholds by July 21, 2011, and every five years thereafter. As a result, the SEC issued today’s notice that it intends to issue an order to revise the dollar amount tests to $1 million for assets under management and $2 million for net worth.
view the Proposed Rule; Notice of Intent to Issue Order
Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck fles with the SEC
May 10, 2011--Van Eck has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Market Vectors Asia ex-Japan Aggregate Bond ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck files with the SEC
May 10, 2011--Van Eck has filed an application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck files with the SEC
May 10, 2011--Van Eck has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the LatAm Aggregate Bond ETF (BONO).
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Speech By SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro: Remarks Before The Money Market Funds And Systemic Risk Roundtable
May 10, 2011--Good afternoon. I am pleased to open today’s roundtable discussion on Money Market Funds and Systemic Risk. And I am particularly pleased to be joined by representatives from the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel, as well as my fellow SEC Commissioners.
This multi-regulator presence reflects the broad level of focus and attention that money market funds garner – and highlights their importance in the overall financial landscape.
Money market funds catapulted into the public consciousness in September of 2008 – in the midst of the market crisis. It was then that the Reserve Primary Fund broke the buck, and we subsequently witnessed a run on institutional prime money market funds.
Regulators and investors alike, were once again reminded of the tremendous significance of the role of money market funds in the financial system. During the week of September 15, 2008, investors withdrew approximately $310 billion from prime money market funds, with the heaviest redemptions coming from institutional funds. This represented 15 percent of those funds’ assets.
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Source: SEC.gov
Securities lending legend Slater becomes global head
May 9, 2011--BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, has announced that James Slater will become global head of securities lending following the retirement of Kathy Rulong on July 1, 2011.
Slater was formerly chief operating officer for BNY Mellon's securities lending business with responsibility for providing strategic direction for core functions, including trading and product development within that business.
Bill Kelly is named as deputy head of securities lending in addition to his current responsibilities as head of new business and client service.
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Source: Securities Lending
