Global ETF News Older than One Year
DECPG Global Monthly-March 2018
March 28, 2018--Monthly Highlights
Recent data point to continued strong global growth in 2018. In advanced economies, a rise in inflation remains incipient despite ongoing tightening in labor markets.
After recovering from a period of turbulence in early February, equity prices suffered renewed losses and heightened volatility in late March, amid fears of rising trade protectionism.
Oil prices fell in February, ending seven months of gains, but rose in late March reflecting renewed concerns of sanctions against Iran.
Special Focus: The Investment Cycle in EMDEs
After a prolonged slowdown that began in 2011, investment in EMDEs picked up in 2017 and is expected to accelerate in 2018-19.
While the turnaround is welcome, investment growth is still modest compared to its long-term average, and large investment gaps remain.
Several factors may constrain investment growth in EMDEs in the coming years, holding back potential growth.
Source: World Bank
Passive investing won't cut it with China A shares
March 26, 2018--Passive investment strategy risks owning highly valued and leveraged companies
With a trade war looming between the US and China, now may not be the best time to consider buying domestic Chinese A-shares. Yet that is what emerging markets funds are obliged to do.
Source: FT.com
The Global Financial Centres Index 23
March 26, 2018--THE RESULTS
There is an overall increase in confidence for the leading centres.
Signs of a bias towards stronger and more established centres are evident with the top 25 centres all rising in the ratings. Ratings fell for all of the lowest
50 centres.
London and New York remain at the top of the rankings and the gap between them in ratings closed to one point on a scale of 1,000. Hong Kong retains third place. London's rating rose less than the other four top centres. There is now less than 50 points between the top five centres. San Francisco and Boston moved into the top ten, replacing Beijing and Zurich.
Source: Z/Yen
ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis Precious metals favoured in a week of volatility
March 26, 2018--Gold and silver inflows dominated in a week of political volatility.
Profit-taking follows rise in oil prices.
Investors appeared to sell diversified commodity baskets as volatility intensified.
A rally in gold and silver prices piqued investor interest in precious metal ETPs. A 2.8% rise in gold prices and a 0.3% rally in silver prices last week aided inflows into precious metal ETPs. Silver saw a second consecutive week of inflows of US$8.3mn. Gold inflows of US$22.5mn reversed most of the prior week's outflows. Gold prices started rallying mid-week when the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) released it latest policy statement and projections. The market interpreted the Fed’s position as dovish, as the median forecast for end of year rates had not changed.
Source: ETF Securities
DECPG Global Weekly
March 23, 2018--TAKING STOCK
U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates; durable goods orders rose
Euro Area consumer confidence stabilized; composite PMI decelerated
Japan export growth slowed in February; economic sentiment improved
Brazil's central bank cut interest rates again
U.S. yields remain stable; global equity markets fell on possible new U.S. import tariff
U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates; durable goods orders rose. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark federal fund rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5-1.75 percent, in line with market expectations. The interest rate hike, the sixth quarter-point increase since December 2015, came amid strong employment numbers and firming inflation. The Federal Reserve noted that the U.S. economy is on track to grow at a 2.7 percent (y/y) pace in 2018Q4 and 2.4 percent (y/y) in 2019Q4, an improvement from previous projections attributed to recent fiscal stimulus measures
Source: World Bank
Managing Debt Vulnerabilities in Low-Income and Developing Countries
March 22, 2018--Government debt in some of the world's poorest countries is rising to risky levels, a new IMF report shows. The report looks at economic developments and prospects among the world's low-income countries, which account for a fifth of the world's population but only four percent of global output.
The report focuses not only on the rise in government debt, but also on the shift in the composition of creditors. And, because of this shift, it also focuses on the importance of official creditors working together to find ways to ensure efficient coordination in the event of future debt restructurings.
Source: IMF
Euronext Announces Appointments in Euronext London and in Its US Activities
March 22, 2018--Today, Euronext (Paris:ENX) (Amsterdam:ENX) (Brussels:ENX), the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone with more than 1,300 listed issuers, announces that the Supervisory Board has approved unanimously the following appointments:
Paul Humphrey, Head of Fixed Income, Rates and FX (FICC), is appointed in addition to his current position and subject to regulatory approvals, interim CEO of Euronext London, interim Head of Global Sales, and interim member of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V., in replacement of Lee Hodgkinson who is leaving on 30 March 20181. Euronext is in the process of actively searching for Lee Hodgkinson,s permanent replacement.
Source: Euronext
EDHEC-Risk Institute Newsletter-March 2018 Issue
March 21, 2018--The Factor Investing across Asset Classes-Risk factors, defined as systematic underlying sources of risk that impact a large set of securities, have long been used in investment practice for analysing risk and performance of actively or passively managed portfolios.
More recently, a new approach has emerged, where factors have a more explicit role in the investment process...
Smart Beta and Beyond: Maximising the Benefits of Factor Investing, by Lionel Martellini and Vincent Milhau
Factor investing is an investment paradigm under which an investor decides how much to allocate to various factors, as opposed to various securities or asset classes. Its popularity has been growing since the turn of the millennium, especially after the recognition in 2008 that multiple asset classes can experience severe losses at the same time despite their apparent differences...
Source: EDHEC-Risk Institute
Commodity Monthly Monitor-Potential trade wars sour otherwise strong fundamentals Mar/Apr 2018
March 21, 2018--Summary
Commodities gave back the gains from the prior month. Industrial metals led the losses, falling by 5.3%. With the Trump Administration imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, the threat of a tit-for-tat trade war has sent jitters into the base metals markets.
However, judging by global purchasing managers indices, economic growth appears to be on a strong footing in both manufacturing and service sectors. That bodes well for commodity demand. Although an upgrade in the Federal Reserve's assessment of the US economy is likely to be US Dollar positive, which could constrain commodity prices in US Dollar terms.At its May meeting, the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), will have to think carefully about its messaging for lifting the curbs on its production, which we expect will happen sometime in 2019. They will be keen to emphasise that avoiding a build-up of oil inventory will continue to be their goal.
Source: ETF Securities
Emerging market equity funds make record start to year
March 20, 2018--Active fund managers grab half of inflows as ETFs lose their iron grip.
