Global ETF News Older than One Year
WGC-Gold ETF holdings update August 2017-Gold-backed ETF holdings fell to 2,245.0t in July, 3% lower m-o-m
August 10, 2017--At the end of July, total holdings in gold-backed ETFs and similar products stood at 2,245.0t (72.2moz), 67.7t lower than in June. These holdings were valued at US$91.5bn, 1% lower compared to the previous month.
North American funds bore the heaviest losses-holdings were 60.6t lower (-5%) at1,166.1t. European funds also declined, shedding 6.8t collectively to 970.9t. Funds in Asia gained marginally (+0.7t) to 62.5t, while gold holdings by the rest of the world dropped 1.0t to 45.3t.
In North America, SPDR Gold Shares saw an outflow of 60.6t (-7%) to 791.9t. iShares Gold Trust saw marginal growth (+0.5t) to 210.9t.
Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
Vanguard to spend $5m on analyst research under Mifid II
August 10, 2017--US fund house plans to absorb external research costs under new European rules.
Source: FT.com
MSCI Equity Indexes August 2017 Index Review
August 10, 2017-MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of research-based indexes and analytics, announced today the results of the August 2017 Quarterly Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indexes-including the MSCI Global Standard, MSCI Global Small Cap and MSCI Micro Cap Indexes, the MSCI Global Value and Growth Indexes, the MSCI Frontier Markets and MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes, the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index, the MSCI Global Islamic and MSCI Global Islamic Small Cap Indexes, the MSCI PanâEuro and MSCI Euro Indexes, the MSCI US Equity Indexes, the MSCI US REIT Index, the MSCI China A Indexes and the MSCI China All Shares Indexes.
All changes will be implemented as of the close of August 31, 2017.
Source: msci.com
ULTUMUS-Global ETF Monitor-Samsung, ComStage, Source & WisdomTree
August 9, 2017--Asia
Samsung's Kodex is launching a new covered call ETF in South Korea that tracks the S&P Dividends Aristocrats Covered Call Index. Covered call ETFs like 276970 tend to arise when fund managers are unsatisfied with yields...
Europe
ETFs have reached a point where they have started to invest in other ETFs. German issuer ComStage will be listing its Vermogensstrategie UCITS ETF, which translates to "power strategy", into Switzerland...
As may be appropriate post-Brexit, Source has listed a new ETF into London, the Source MSCI Europe ex-UK UCITS ETF....
Americas
WisdomTree has listed a new factor ETF in Toronto...
Source: ULTUMUS-Financial Data Management
Bitcoin retreats from all-time high even as Fidelity debuts digital-currency tracking
August 9, 2017--Bitcoin saw a modest pullback from its recent record run on Wednesday, but the cryptocurrency enjoyed some upbeat news on the session, with Fidelity Investments announcing that it would start tracking the digital unit for its clients.
Source: www.marketwatch.com
SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq to Develop Distributed Ledger Technology for SIX's OTC Structured Products
August 9, 2017--SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today have announced that Nasdaq, in collaboration with its technology partner Chain, will provide distributed ledger technology (DLT) for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for SIX's OTC structured products business.
Source: Nasdaq.com
BetaShares-Global Market Outlook: Central banks bark but don't bite
August 8, 2017--Global equities shook off the previous month's concerns about global central bank tightening to post another solid gain in July.
With global inflation low and central bank's still cautious over policy tightening, the outlook remains encouraging for risk markets.
view the BetaShares Global Market Outlook report
Source: betashares.com.au
IMF Working paper-Cyber Risk. Market Failures, and Financial Stability
August 7, 2017--Summary:
Cyber-attacks on financial institutions and financial market infrastructures are becoming more common and more sophisticated. Risk awareness has been increasing, firms actively manage cyber risk and invest in cybersecurity, and to some extent transfer and pool their risks through cyber liability insurance policies.
This paper considers the properties of cyber risk, discusses why the private market can fail to provide the socially optimal level of cybersecurity, and explore how systemic cyber risk interacts with other financial stability risks. Furthermore, this study examines the current regulatory frameworks and supervisory approaches, and identifies information asymmetries and other inefficiencies that hamper the detection and management of systemic cyber risk. The paper concludes discussing policy measures that can increase the resilience of the financial system to systemic cyber risk.
Source: IMF
Leading blockchain club readies first commercial product
August 7, 2017--Startup backed by many of the world's largest financial institutions is fresh from raising $100m from Bank of America, HSBC and others
R3, which has brought together over 80 banks and other institutions to develop blockchain technology for use in financial services, is close to coming to market with its first commercial product.
Source: fnlondon.com
BIS Working paper-Demographics will reverse three multi-decade global trends
August 7, 2017--Between the 1980s and the 2000s, the largest ever positive labour supply shock occurred, resulting from demographic trends and from the inclusion of China and eastern Europe into the World Trade Organization.
This led to a shift in manufacturing to Asia, especially China; a stagnation in real wages; a collapse in the power of private sector trade unions; increasing inequality within countries, but less inequality between countries; deflationary pressures; and falling interest rates. This shock is now reversing. As the world ages, real interest rates will rise, inflation and wage growth will pick up and inequality will fall. What is the biggest challenge to our thesis? The hardest prior trend to reverse will be that of low interest rates, which have resulted in a huge and persistent debt overhang, apart from some deleveraging in advanced economy banks. Future problems may now intensify as the demographic structure worsens, growth slows, and there is little stomach for major inflation. Are we in a trap where the debt overhang enforces continuing low interest rates, and those low interest rates encourage yet more debt finance? There is no silver bullet, but we recommend policy measures to switch from debt to equity finance.
view the BIS Working paper-Demographics will reverse three multi-decade global trends
BY: Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan Source: BIS
