Global ETF News Older than One Year
Uncertainty a definite plus for ETFs as assets hit record
Nearly $188B in net inflows in 2012; tactical, strategic
January 4, 2013--The exchange-traded-funds industry is enjoying a boost in its popularity, thanks to growing levels of political and economic uncertainty, according to the latest report from ETFGI LLP.
The research firm said assets in exchange-traded products listed in the U.S. set a record in 2012 of $1.35 trillion, a 27% increase over 2011
Source: Investment News
BATS Global Markets Sets Full-Year Market Share Records In All Business Segments
Reports Yearly Average of 11.9% in U.S. Equities; 3.3% in U.S. Options; BATS Chi-X Europe Reports 24.6% in European Equities
January 4, 2013--BATS Global Markets (BATS), a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, reported its best annual market share performance across all of its markets in 2012,
including 11.9% U.S. equities market share for the year, up from 11.2% in 2011, the previous annual record, and 10.2% in 2010.
BATS Chi-X Europe averaged 24.6% pan-European equities market share for the year, measured by notional value traded, maintaining its position as the largest equity market in Europe during 2012, compared to a pro forma market share of 24.1% a year ago. In the U.S., BATS Options recorded 3.3% market share for the year vs. 3.0% in 2011.
Source: BATS Global Markets
Year End Commodities Commentary: Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Ends 2012 Down
Losses In Coffee, Natural Gas And Orange Juice
January 4, 2013--The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index ended the year down 1.14%.
The three most significant downside performing single commodity indices in 2012 were coffee, natural gas and orange juice, which ended the year down 41.64%, 30.70%, and 26.07%, respectively.
Source: Mondovisione
Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indices 2012 Year End Performance Report
January 4, 2013--The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index ended 2012 down 1.14%. The Dow Jones-UBS Single Commodity Indices for soybean meal, unleaded gasoline and soybeans had the strongest gains producing year-end returns of
48.94%, 25.57%, and 23.85%, respectively. The three most significant downside performing single commodity indices in 2012 were coffee, natural gas and orange juice which ended the year down 41.64%, 30.70%, and 26.07%, respectively.
Source: Mondovisione
Almost All of Wall Street Got 2012 Market Calls Wrong
January 4, 2013--From John Paulson's call for a collapse in Europe to Morgan Stanley (MS)'s warning that U.S. stocks would decline, Wall Street got little right in its prognosis for the year just ended.
Paulson, who manages $19 billion in hedge funds, said the euro would fall apart and bet against the region’s debt. Morgan Stanley predicted the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index would lose 7 percent and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) foresaw wider swings in equity prices. All of them proved wrong last year and investors would have done better listening to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein, who said the real risk was being too pessimistic.
Source: Bloomberg
Financial advisers drop 'independent' tag
January 4, 2013--Financial advisers' trade bodies are being forced to rebrand themselves and drop the word "independent" as a growing number of their members will be able to advise only on a "restricted" range of products under new regulations introduced on December 31 2012.
Sifa, the body for financial advisers working with solicitors, has announced that its acronym will no longer stand for Solicitors Independent Financial Advice, which will change to Supporting Impartial Financial Advice.
Source: FT.com
BlackRock in landmark move to boost ETF protection
January 3, 2013--BlackRock has started issuing letters to investors to bolster the degree of protection they have from the firm's practice of securities lending in iShares, its exchange traded funds (ETF) arm.
The asset manager last year moved to indemnify its iShares range from the risk of borrower default, meaning that if a company borrows stock from the fund and goes bust, BlackRock compensates the fund and ensures there is no financial loss for investors.
Source: CityWire
The Options Industry Council Announces December Options Volume Down 2% With 2012 Volume Surpassing 4 Billion Contracts
January 2, 2013--The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 312,528,471 total options contracts were traded in December, which is a 2.43 percent decrease compared to the previous December when 320,324,954 contracts were traded.
Total options trading volume for the year stood at 4,003,871,308 contracts, off last year's record year by 12.25 percent with 4,562,748,194 total options contracts exchanged. This marks the second time annual volume was over 4 billion contracts and 2012 as the second highest volume year on record. Equity options volume came in at 3,681,820,659 contracts, 12.85 percent less than the 4,224,604,529 contracts traded the year prior.
Last year also saw $1.36 trillion in options premium change hands, the sixth consecutive year above $1 trillion and the third highest amount after 2008's $1.9 trillion.
Source: The Options Industry Council (OIC)
Index providers look to apply minimum volatility success story to other asset classes
January 2, 2013--Minimum volatility strategies have been a huge hit in the equity space. Index providers are now planning to apply them to fixed income and commodities
Index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers are looking to apply minimum volatility and risk-control strategies to other asset classes aside from equities, according to industry participants.
Source: Risk.net
Total trading volume at Eurex Group at 2.3 billion contracts in 2012
Average daily volume in 2012 approximately 9.0 million contracts/ Eurex KOSPI Product, dividend and volatility derivatives with significant growth
January 2, 2013-- The international derivatives markets of Eurex Group ended 2012 with a turnover of approximately 2.3 billion contracts, compared with 2.8 billion in 2011.
The total volume for 2012 splits into 1.7 billion contracts traded at Eurex Exchange (2011: 2.0 billion) and 631.8 million contracts traded at the International Securities Exchange (ISE) (2011: 778.1 million). This corresponds to a daily average trading volume of 9.0 million contracts (2011: 11.1 million), thereof 6.5 million contracts at Eurex Exchange and 2.5 million contracts at ISE.
At Eurex Exchange, the equity index derivatives segment was the largest in 2012 with a total yearly volume of 765.6 million contracts (2011: 954.7 million). Derivatives on the EURO STOXX 50® index were the largest single product with 315.2 million futures and 280.6 million options. The equity derivatives segment (options and single stock futures) saw 411.0 million contracts (2011: 449.6 million). In 2012, the interest rate derivatives segment reached a total of 470.4 million contracts (2011: 630.4 million).
Source: Eurex
