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Direxion Launches Two Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds
New ETFs Offer 3x Leveraged Inverse Exposure to Brazil and South Korea
May 1, 2013--Direxion, a leader in alternative investment solutions, has launched two new leveraged inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the Direxion Daily Brazil Bear 3x Shares (BRZS) and Direxion Daily South Korea Bear 3x Shares (KORZ).
The Direxion Daily Brazil Bear 3x Shares seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 300% of the inverse performance of the MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index. The MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance of mid- and large-cap Brazilian companies. Similarly, the Direxion Daily South Korea Bear 3x Shares seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 300% of the inverse performance of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index. The MSCI Korea 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance of mid- and large-cap South Korean companies.
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Source: Direxion
Deutsche Bank-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America
US ETF Model Portfolios-Diversified Momentum Portfolio Update
May 1, 2013--Diversified Momentum Update as of April 30th, 2013
Solid month for our DMP. Strong results for Global sectors, Commodities, and Treasuries.
Market Performance
The US equity market (SPY) recorded another positive month in April. Similarly, the broad US Fixed Income market (BND) was up; while the Commodity market (DBC) plunged by 3.81% during the same period.
Model Portfolio Performance
Our Diversified Momentum Portfolio (DMP) advanced 1.71% in April. In the meantime, the equity market and our multi asset class benchmark were both up recording gains of 1.92% and 0.39%, respectively.
Portfolio Updates and New Membership
9 of the 20 DMP positions will change for May. In terms of portfolio weights, the asset class weights will suffer no changes. Currencies will continue to be the top allocation with 40%, followed by Global Sectors with 30%, Commodities with 20%, and Treasuries with 10%.
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Source: DB-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America
Vanguard reports April 2013 expense ratio changes
May 1, 2013--In April, expense ratios changed for multiple Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs available to institutional investors, as shown in the tables below. Thirty-four products had reductions in their expense ratios, and 5 had increases.
Expense ratios may fluctuate from year to year based on changes in the cost of managing the funds. For example, economies of scale resulting from an increase in a fund's total assets because of market appreciation or cash flow can help reduce its expense ratio, while a decline in assets can cause the expense ratio to rise.
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Source: Vanguard
Report to the Secretary of the Treasury
May 1, 2013--April 30, 2013
Dear Mr. Secretary:
The economy grew at a moderate pace in the first quarter: real GDP expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, as some of the temporary drags that held growth to a 0.4% pace the prior quarter faded.
The tone of the data late in the first quarter softened, quite likely due to the delayed effect of fiscal restraint enacted at the beginning of the year. That restraint is expected to present a significant headwind to growth in the second quarter, as the drag from sequestered federal spending is added to the drag from higher payroll and income taxes. While recent data point to a deceleration from the first quarter’s respectable growth rate, there are some supports to growth as well. The housing sector appears set to contribute to overall economic growth once again, and the recent decline in energy prices should provide some purchasing power relief to the household sector. Outside of commodity prices, financial conditions have been mixed but broadly remain supportive of continued economic expansion.
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
Exchange Traded Concepts Files for YieldShares High Income ETF (YYY)
May 1, 2013--Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC (ETC), in conjunction with YieldShares LLC (YieldShares), announces that Exchange Traded Concepts Trust (Trust) has filed a registration statement, including a preliminary prospectus, with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the YieldShares High Income ETF (YYY).
YYY will seek to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the ISE High IncomeTM Index (High Income Index). The High Income Index seeks to measure the performance of the top 30 U.S. exchange-listed closed-end funds (CEFs), as selected and ranked according to factors designed to result in a portfolio that produces high current income.
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Source: Exchange Traded Concepts
"Kill switches" closer to becoming reality
May 1, 2013--Exchanges are almost ready to submit a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission that will create "kill switches" or "big red buttons" designed to prevent market disruptions.
These kill switches would track and limit the amount of trading conducted by market participants and would provide a cap on all trading for a given day. The kill switches would be free for all brokers.
Source: SmartBrief.com
CME Group Volume Averaged 11.6 Million Contracts per Day in April 2013, Up 8 Percent from April 2012
Metals volume up 62 percent, to record
Energy volume up 20 percent
Foreign exchange volume up 18 percent
Equities volume up 16 percent
May 1, 2013--CME Group, the world,s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that April 2013 volume averaged 11.6 million contracts per day, up 8 percent compared with April 2012. Total volume for April 2013 was more than 254 million contracts, of which 87 percent was traded electronically.
In April 2013, CME Group metals volume averaged a record 532,000 contracts per day, up 62 percent from April 2012, driven by monthly records across various products including copper. CME Group energy volume averaged 1.9 million contracts per day in April 2013, up 20 percent compared with the prior April. During the month, open interest in NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures reached a record 1.77 million contracts and open interest for NYMEX Brent Crude Oil Futures surpassed 53,000. Furthermore, 458,000 energy contracts were cleared through CME ClearPort, up 16 percent from the prior April and up 5 percent sequentially.
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Source: CME Group
CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues No-Action Letter Providing Time-Limited Relief for Swap Dealers in Connection with Prime Brokerage Arrangements
April 30, 2013--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today issued a time-limited no-action letter that provides swap dealers with relief from certain External Business Conduct Standards
rules in the context of prime brokerage arrangements.
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Source: CFTC.gov
DB-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America
US ETF Model Portfolios-Country Rotation Portfolio Update
April 30, 2013--Long portfolios were in line with global equities; while Long/Short portfolios lagged in April.
Market Performance
The global equity markets posted strong returns for April, despite intra-month weakness. The MSCI AC World Index (ACWI) gained 2.84% during this period.
ETF Country Rotation Portfolio (CRP) Series Performance
Our long portfolios posted positive returns for April. The tercile, quartile, and quintile portfolios recorded gains of 2.79%, 2.3%, and 1.73%, respectively. On the long/short area, only our Tercile portfolio experienced positive returns (0.28%), while the quartile and quintile portfolios recorded losses of 0.52% and 2.14%, respectively. The main drags to the long/short portfolios came from the short positions in Greece and Italy.
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Source: Deutsche Bank - Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy - North America
State Street Global Advisors Announces Index Change to the SPDR FTSE/Macquarie Global Infrastructure
State Street Global Advisors Announces Index Change to the SPDR FTSE/Macquarie Global Infrastructure 100 ETF (Symbol: GII)
April 30, 2013--State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYS: STT), today announced changes to the index and name of the SPDR FTSE/Macquarie Global Infrastructure 100 ETF (Symbol:GII).
Effective May 1, 2013, the SPDR FTSE/Macquarie Global Infrastructure 100ETF began tracking The S&P Global Infrastructure Index and was renamed the SPDR S&P® Global Infrastructure ETF. The fund's ticker symbol (GII) remains unchanged and no action is required by shareholders. The annual expense ratio will change from 0.59 to 0.40 percent.
The S&P Global Infrastructure Index provides liquid and tradable exposure to 75 companies from around the world that represent the listed infrastructure universe. To create diversified exposure across the global listed infrastructure market, the index has balanced weights across three distinct infrastructure clusters: Utilities, Transportation and Energy.
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Source: State Street Global Advisors