Global ETF News Older than One Year
100 Most Overpaid CEOs Report Shows Fund Managers Reluctant to Vote Against Exorbitant CEO Pay Packages
March 1, 2018--Today's release of The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs: Are Fund Managers Asleep at the Wheel? from shareholder advocacy group As You Sow revealed that the largest fund managers displayed a strong reluctance to vote against exorbitant executive compensation packages.
With a growing number of Americans concerned about wealth inequality, fund managers Blackrock and Vanguard have both been speaking out against high pay packages, but have not often used the power of their proxy cast votes against them.
The report shows that large non-US investment managers and pension funds are more likely to vote against exorbitant executive pay packages, but institutional shareholder votes can be unpredictable-this in spite of dubious returns.
Source: asyousow.org
Ethereum's smart contracts are full of holes
March 1, 2018--Blockchain-powered computer programs promise to revolutionize the digital economy, but new research suggests they're far from secure.
Computer programs that run on blockchains are shaking up the financial system. But much of the hype around what are called smart contracts is just that. It's a brand-new field. Technologists are just beginning to figure out how to design them so they can be relied on not to lose people's money, and-as a new survey of Ethereum smart contracts illustrates-security researchers are only now coming to terms with what a smart-contract vulnerability even looks like.
Source: MIT Technology Review
TrackInsight-Winter 2018 ETF ratings now available!
February 27, 2018--February 27, 2018--1,900+ North America & Europe domiciled ETFs now rated on their replication quality
TrackInsight (www.trackinsight.com), the independent global ETF data & analytics platform, is delighted to announce the release of 2018 Summer ETF ratings.
1,015 Europe-listed & 968 North America-listed ETFs now benefit from a fully independent rating, enabling investors to easily assess the replication quality of ETFs based on a three-year track record.hese 1,983 rated ETFs, covering all asset classes and the most sought-after benchmarks, have over USD3.6T in AUMs as of 31 December 2017.
Source: TrackInsight
World Gold Council-Annual review 2017
February 27, 2018--The strong gold price performance was a positive for investors and producers, and was symptomatic of a more profound shift in sentiment: a growing recognition of gold's role as a wealth preservation and risk mitigation tool. This goes to the heart of our strategy to make gold a mainstream asset.
Over the past year we saw the launch of LMEprecious, developed with the London Metal Exchange, which is intended to improve price transparency and efficiency of transacting in the London wholesale market. Also, the emergence of a range of Shari'ah-compliant gold products, following the launch of the ground-breaking Shari'ah Standard on Gold in 2016, should help to open up the gold market further. More broadly, significant progress has been made in engaging pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to consider making allocations to gold.
Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
ETFGI reports assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs and ETPs listed globally reach record high of US$87.3 billion at the end of January 2018
February 27, 2018--According to ETFGI's January 2018 Leverage and Inverse ETF and ETP industry insights report, a monthly report included in an annual paid-for research subscription service, assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record high of US$87.3 billion at the end of January 2018, shattering the previous record of US$80.7 billion set at the end of 2017.
(All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
During January, leverage and inverse ETFs/ETPs listed globally saw net inflows of $1.47 Bn
Assets invested in leveraged and inverse ETFs/ETPs listed globally increased by a record $6.61 Bn during January 2018 to reach a new high of $87.3 Bn at the end of the month
The majority of assets were invested in leveraged ETFs/ETPs with $53.8 Bn, followed by inverse
products with assets of $17.8 Bn, and leveraged inverse with $15.8 Bn
Source: ETFGI
ETF Securities Investment Insights-Dollar Dynamics May Favor Commodities
February 27, 2018--Summary
Dollar has entered a structural bear market reflecting concerns
around US fiscal deficit and rising inflation.
Negative dollar view may spell good news for commodities
which historically perform well during dollar drawdowns.
Energy sector's negative correlation to US Dollar returns.
Debt, Deficit, and a Downward Dollar
After falling 10% in 2017, the US dollar (USD) continues its slide
year to date. In fact, when evaluating the USD since the end of the
Bretton Woods system in 1973, the dollar's long-term downward
drift may likely resume (Exhibit 1). Markets have attributed the
recent pullback to concerns around the US deficit; exacerbated by
the passage of the recent tax reform bill and anticipated future
fiscal spending.
Source: etfsecurities.com
The Basel Committee consults on revisions to the Pillar 3 disclosure framework
February 27, 2018--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today issued for consultation Pillar 3 disclosure requirements-updated framework.
Pillar 3 of the Basel framework seeks to promote market discipline through regulatory disclosure requirements. Many of the proposed disclosure requirements published today are related to the finalisation of the Basel III post-crisis regulatory reforms in December 2017 and include new or revised requirements:
Source: BIS
This Big Cryptocurrency Acquisition Could Create a Wall Street-Style Financial Giant
February 26, 2018--Circle, a cryptocurrency-focused financial-services firm, will announce today that it is buying crypto exchange Poloniex-a move that immediately makes Circle one of the largest and most influential companies in the industry.
Fortune's Robert Hackett profiles a company that hopes to leverage the technology behind Bitcoin to become the bank of the next century.
Source: Fortune.com
ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis-Robotic ETFs continue to see inflows
February 26, 2018--US$15mn into robotic themed equity ETFs.
Industrial metals-buying on price dips.
Arabica coffee ETPs attract US$6.8mn-the highest since October 2017-as investors bargain-hunt.
Crude oil ETPs resume outflows.
US$15mn into robotic themed equity ETFs. Last week's flows marked a 3 week high. Investors are increasingly enthusiastic about the role of robotics in the modern world and have identified an investment opportunity in the companies that enable the deployment of this technology.
Industrial metals-buying on price dips. Broad industrial metal ETPs received a second consecutive week of inflows (US$5.0mn) as investors bought on price dips.Long copper ETPs received US$8.7mn of inflows.
Source: etfsecurities.com
ETF Securities-Commodity Monthly Monitor -Commodities buck cyclical shakedown
February 26, 2018--While the S&P500, cryptocurrencies and bond prices fell last month, commodities posted gains. The S&P500 volatility index is now back to its normal territory after a protracted period of being subdued. Cyclical commodities like industrial metals however, continue to trade higher on firm fundamentals.
Gains were not homogenous in commodities: the unsustainable rise in oil prices in January faltered in February and palladium has begun to unwind, coming closer to parity with platinum after consistently trading above since October 2017.
As China re-opens after the New Year celebrations, better quality data from the largest consumer of commodities will come due. Year-on-year comparisons of data from China in the months of January and February are very difficult because the timing of lunar New Year is not the same each year on the Georgian calendar
Source: etfsecurities.com
