Global ETF News Older than One Year
Blockchain in capital markets: Here's what we've learned after 5 years of experimentation
May 6, 2021--Many financial institutions and tech firms have invested heavily in exploring distributed ledger technology and its capabilities, moving it from the margins to the mainstream.
There are inefficiencies, challenges and potential risks to what underlies global capital markets and the key question is whether DLT is the appropriate tech to address them.
Capital market leaders must take several steps, including better understanding DLT and its potential roles, while uniting behind common standards for contracts and processes.
In the five years since the World Economic Forum published "The future of financial infrastructure", the world of blockchain has changed dramatically. Bitcoin- the oldest and most widely known cryptocurrency, and the first major blockchain application- saw its value peak in late 2017, before falling and then rising to new records over the past several months. Most of the world's major central banks have announced research programmes on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), and a few smaller countries have launched live CBDCs. In many ways, it appears that distributed ledger technology (DLT), of which blockchain is the most common architecture, has moved from the margins to mainstream adoption.
In the capital markets- stock, bond, derivatives and related markets - DLT has been regarded as, depending on whom you ask, one of:
disruptive threat to existing players;
a solution to inefficiencies arising from legacy technologies and operations;
a solution in search of a problem.
Source: weforum.org
Digital Assets, Distributed Ledger Technology, and the Future of Capital Markets
May 6, 2021--This report highlights the results of a series of virtual global workshops and expert interviews held with financial services and technology experts in 2020. It looks at the urgent need for digital transformation in capital markets, with a view to providing strategic insights that will improve client service delivery, achieve greater efficiency and enable new services.
As well as exploring the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT)- now going live in many institutions– and its role in future capital markets, it examines the challenges involved in attempting industry-wide transformation and presents a framework for different approaches to DLT solutions. Finally, it presents a use case analysis of seven asset classes/product lines, including equity markets, securitized products, derivatives and securities financing.
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
How Much Energy Does Bitcoin Actually Consume?
May 5, 2021--How much energy does an industry deserve to consume?
Right now, organizations around the world are facing pressure to limit the consumption of non-renewable energy sources and the emission of carbon into the atmosphere. But figuring out how much consumption is too much is a complex question that's intertwined with debates around our priorities as a society.
The calculation of which goods and services are "worth" spending these resources on, after all, is really a question of values. As cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, have grown in prominence, energy use has become the latest flashpoint in the larger conversation about what, and who, digital currencies are really good for.
Source: hbr.org
US Dollar Share of Global Foreign Exchange Reserves Drops to 25-Year Low
May 5, 2021--The share of US dollar reserves held by central banks fell to 59 percent-its lowest level in 25 years-during the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) survey. Some analysts say this partly reflects the declining role of the US dollar in the global economy, in the face of competition from other currencies used by central banks for international transactions. If the shifts in central bank reserves are large enough, they can affect currency and bond markets.
Our Chart of the Week looks at the recent data release from a longer-term perspective. It shows that the share of US dollar assets in central bank reserves dropped by 12 percentage points-from 71 to 59 percent-since the euro was launched in 1999 (top panel), although with notable fluctuations in between (blue line). Meanwhile, the share of the euro has fluctuated around 20 percent, while the share of other currencies including the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, and Chinese renminbi climbed to 9 percent in the fourth quarter (green line).
Source: IMF
Palm oil/BlackRock: passive strategy is at odds with ESG stance
May 5, 2021--From oleo cookies to shaving cream, palm oil is an ingredient in all of our daily lives. Global production continues to grow, reaching about 72 million metric tons last year. Its ubiquity makes open and ethical investors like BlackRock hypocrisy...Plantation operators can destroy rainforests and deprive smallholders of land.
Environmental groups have leveled the latter claim with a subsidiary of Astra International, an Indonesian company whose third largest shareholder is a passive expert in the United States. This claim is a nuisance to BlackRock, who participated in a shareholder rebellion over aspects of the Procter & Gamble supply chain last year.
Source: californianewstimes.com
ETFGI reports assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a record 1.12 trillion US dollars at the end of Q1 2021
April 30, 2021--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported today that equity-based Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$27.92 billion during March, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$57.40 billion which is higher than the US$8.97 billion gathered at this point last year.
Year-to-date through the end of March 2021, Smart Beta Equity ETF/ETP assets have increased by 12.5% from US$1 trillion to US$1.12 trillion, with a 5-year CAGR of 22.8%, according to ETFGI's March 2021 ETFs and ETPs Smart Beta industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar vales in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally reach a record $1.12 Tn a the end of Q1 2021.
Smart Beta ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of $27.92 billion during March
Year-to-date Q1 net inflows are a record $57.40 billion which is higher than the $8.97 billion gathered in Q1 2020.
Source: ETFGI
ETFGI reports assets invested in Active ETFs and ETPs reached a record 329 billion US Dollars at the end Q1 2021
April 30, 2021--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported today that Active ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of
US$13.35 billion during March, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$47.15 billion.
Assets invested in actively managed ETFs and ETPs finished the month up to 3.4%, from US$318 billion at the end of February to a record US$329 billion, according to ETFGI's March 2021 Active ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, a monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Assets invested in Active ETFs and ETPs reached a record $329 billion at the end of Q1 2021.
Active ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $13.35 billion during March.
Year-to-date Q1 net inflows are a record $47.15 billion beating the prior record of $9.46 billion gathered Q1 2018.
Source: ETFGI
ETFGI reports Thematic ETFs and ETPs listed globally have gathered a record 45.19 billion US dollars in Q1 2021
April 30, 2021--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported today that Thematic ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$2.61 billion during March, bringing year-to-date net inflows to record US$45.19 billion which is much higher than the prior record of US$25.21 billion gathered at this point last year.
Total assets invested in Thematic ETFs and ETPs decreased by 3.1% from US$393.67 billion at the end of February 2021 to US$381.59 billion, according to ETFGI's March 2021 Global ETFs and ETPs Thematic industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets of $381.59 Bn invested in Thematic ETFs and ETPs listed globally at the end of Q1 are the third highest on record.
During March Thematic ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $2.61 Bn.
YTD net inflows of $45.19 Bn are a record, passing the prior record of $25.21 Bn gathered in Q1 2020.
Source: SEC.gov
A Post-Pandemic Assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals
April 29, 2021--Summary:
The COVID-19 pandemic hit countries'development agendas hard. The ensuing recession has pushed millions into extreme poverty and has shrunk government resources available for spending on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This Staff Discussion Note assesses the current state of play on funding SDGs in five key development areas: education, health, roads, electricity, and water and sanitation, using a newly developed dynamic macroeconomic framework.
Source: IMF
Understanding the Rise in Long-Term Rates
April 22, 2021--The rise in long-term US interest rates has become a focus of global macro-financial concerns. The nominal yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury has increased about 70 basis points since the beginning of the year. This reflects in part an improving US economic outlook amid strong fiscal support and the accelerating recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
So an increase would be expected. But other factors like investors' concerns about the fiscal position and uncertainty about the economic and policy outlook may also be playing a role and help explain the rapid increase early in the year.
Source: imf.org
