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The Stock Market Is Attracting New Investors. Here Are 3 Trends to Know.
March 13, 2021--The rise of retail investors have been one of the biggest stories on Wall Street last year, as social media platforms and free trading apps like Robinhood gave home-bound Americans a newly found passion during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
A new study released by fintech company Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) paints a picture of what the retail investing landscape looks like in the U.S., and what it means for the future of the financial market.
Broadridge tracks the investment portfolios of 44 million U.S. households with $7 trillion assets in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and individual stocks sold through financial intermediaries. The recent study was conducted based on 20,000 random samples of the data, which spans from the year end of 2017 to the first half of 2020. The data does not include cash savings, bank accounts, retirement plans, real assets, or direct fixed income investments.
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Source: barrons.com
Ameriprise buys BMO's European asset-management business for $845M
April 12, 2021--The acquisition will boost its business to $1.2 trillion in assets under management.
Ameriprise Financial said it will buy the Europe, Middle East and Africa asset-management business of BMO Financial Group for about $845 million in cash, the second-largest deal in recent years by the Minneapolis-based financial-advisory firm.
The acquisition, announced Monday, will add about $124 billion of assets under management in EMEA, as the region is called, to Ameriprise's operations. Ameriprise will have more than $1.2 trillion of assets under management after the deal.
It also creates a strategic relationship with BMO Wealth Management so that its North American clients can access Ameriprise's Columbia Threadneedle investment management solutions. Some asset-management clients at BMO, or Bank of Montreal, also could move to Columbia Threadneedle in the U.S., the company said.
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Source: startribune.com
HANetf shifts the HAN-GINS Indxx Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF (WELL) to a new Indxx Index
April 9, 2021--Indxx is pleased to announce that the HAN-GINS Indxx Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF (WELL), will be renamed as HAN-GINS Indxx Healthcare Megatrend Equal Weight UCITS ETF (WELL), which will now track the Indxx Global NextGen Healthcare Index (the "Index").
The Index (Ticker: IHMEQT) is designed to measure the performance of companies that provide exposure to the NextGen Healthcare sector, as defined by Indxx.
Rahul Sen Sharma, Managing Partner at Indxx said, "We are very happy to support HAN ETF in their decision to shift the underlying index of the fund to a new Indxx Index, with added ESG screens and the addition of new themes."
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Source: Indxx
CBO-Monthly Budget Review: March 2021
April 8, 2021--Summary
The federal budget deficit was $1.7 trillion in the first six months of fiscal year 2021, the Congressional Budget Office estimates-almost $1 trillion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.
Outlays were 45 percent higher and revenues were 6 percent higher from October through March than during the same period in fiscal year 2020. Most of that difference arises from spending for three purposes, largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic: refundable tax credits, unemployment compensation, and the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Vanguard Launches Active Ultra-Short Bond ETF
April 7, 2021--Vanguard today introduced its first actively managed bond ETF, managed by its in-house fixed income team. Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF (VUSB) offers a low-cost, diversified option for investors seeking income and limited price volatility. The ETF, which is listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe), has an expense ratio of 0.10%, compared with the average expense ratio for ultra-short-term bond ETFs of 0.22%1.
"Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF offers the features of an ETF structure for investors seeking an option for anticipated cash needs in the range of 6 to 18 months," said Kaitlyn Caughlin, head of Vanguard Portfolio Review Department. "An ultra-short strategy bridges the gap between money market funds offering a stable share price and short-term bond funds, which are meant for longer investment time horizons."
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Source: Vanguard
Joe Biden wants to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure and jobs. These 4 charts show where the money would go
April 1, 2021--The plan includes everything from road repairs and electric vehicle stations, to public school upgrades and training for the clean-energy workforce.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced a sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that looks to reshape the American economy and make the most significant domestic U.S. investments in generations.
His far-reaching American Jobs Plan includes spending to repair aging roads and bridges, jump-start transit projects and rebuild school buildings and hospitals. It would also expand electric vehicles, replace all lead pipes and overhaul the nation's water systems.
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Source: usatoday.com
Concerns grow over ETFs' illiquid holdings
March 29, 2021--Funds with large stakes in barely traded stocks could be hit harder in a market downturn
The surge in ETF investment is beginning to spark concerns that retail investors will not be able to differentiate between exchange traded funds that own securities which are easy to trade and those that have illiquid holdings.
The fear is that some funds, particularly those that have narrow investment objectives, can amass very large holdings in companies that are barely traded.
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Source: FT.com
Wall Street banks anticipate SEC inquiries into SPAC market
March 25, 2021--Wall Street's biggest banks are expecting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to step up its oversight of the red-hot SPACs market.
Officials at major firms are anticipating letters from regulators asking about the potential dangers of underwriting a deluge of deals from so-called blank-check companies, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Source: pionline.com
Four Charts on Canada's Carbon Pollution Pricing System
March 23, 2021--With a federal price on carbon now written into law, Canada is fighting climate change. The country’s enhanced carbon pricing measures put it on track to meet its Paris Agreement targets, providing a model for other large-emitting countries to follow.
Canada has pledged to cut greenhouse gases by about 30 percent below current levels by 2030 and to achieve emissions neutrality by 2050. To meet these ambitious targets, the country is steadily ramping up its price on carbon.
The following four charts illustrate the "why and how" of Canada's carbon pricing arrangement.
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Source: IMF
Managers hope 'proxy' bitcoin funds will finally win SEC approval
March 22, 2021--Despite their popularity elsewhere, the SEC has yet to give the green light to crypto ETFs
US asset managers are attempting to sidestep the Securities and Exchange Commission's apparent reluctance to approve bitcoin exchange traded funds with applications for products that will provide "proxy" exposure.
The filings with the SEC come as exchange traded products that track the price of the cryptocurrency are already up and running in Sweden, Switzerland, Jersey, Germany and Canada.
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Source: FT.com