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Market Vectors ETFs Launches First Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (FRAK)
Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (FRAK) seeks to tap vast potential of fast-growing energy sub-sector
February 15, 2012--Market Vectors ETFs announced today the launch of Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (NYSE Arca: FRAK), the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to provide investors with pure
play exposure to this fast-growing segment of the energy sector,
which can include efforts in coal bed methane, coal seam gas, shale oil, shale gas, tight natural gas, tight oil and tight sands.
FRAK comes to the market as rising global consumption and the quest for energy independence is driving many nations to seek additional supply sources for oil and natural gas. Unconventional technologies—which include hydraulic fracturing, lateral or deep sea drilling, high pressure gas injection, and advanced 3D imaging—may have potential to transform the global energy landscape by dramatically increasing supply and altering import needs. During the past several years, new extraction techniques applied to traditional resources have led to significant, “game changing” increases in North America’s natural gas supply capacity. More recently, these same techniques have been utilized by oil companies striving to produce similar results. Companies located outside North America, in countries such as China, Australia and Argentina, have also begun exploring the potential of unconventional energy. Technological advancements and cost efficiencies have attracted interest from major global energy companies that are eager to participate, as evidenced by rapidly increasing M&A activity.
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Source: Van Eck
US banks push ETF exemption under Volcker
February 14, 2012--US banks are pushing for their activities around exchange-traded funds to be exempt under the so-called Volcker rule, highlighting the importance of the funds as a tool for the big financial institutions that create and sell them.
Banks often act as “authorised participants” for exchange-traded funds, setting up and managing shares in the more than $1tn worth of ETFs in existence in the US. But those activities could fall foul of the proposed Volcker rule, which aims to ban speculative trading at US banks.
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Source: FT.com
US Cash Equities Lose the Battle of Order Flow for Third Straight Year
US Cash Equities Lose the Battle of Order Flow for Third Straight Year
TABB Group's State of the Institutional Equities Industry Research Points to a Single-Stock Volume Rebound By Fourth Quarter 2012
February 14, 2012--The US cash equities market has been losing the battle for order flow for three years in a row, forcing institutional equity brokers in 2011 to see their third annual decline in commission.
According to new research from TABB Group, execution-only commissions will fall more precipitously in 2012 as the buy side continues to squeeze every dollar out of their constrained wallets.
Amidst this climate, Adam Sussman, a TABB partner, director of research and author of the new report, “US Institutional Equities: State of the Industry 2012,” expects single-stock volume to rebound during the fourth quarter of 2012.
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Source: TABB Group
Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011
February 14, 2012--Text of H.R.3606
Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011
view
Source: Library of Congress
New Paper: Strong Risk-adjusted Returns for BXM, BXY and PUT Indexes, while Tail Risk Was Mitigated by CLL Index
by Matt Moran
February 14, 2012--This week the Asset Consulting Group published a new six-page paper "An Analysis of Index Option Writing for Liquid Enhanced Risk-Adjusted Returns" (available at www.cboe.com/benchmarks).
Key findings of the paper include:
Total Growth. Total growth for indexes since mid-1986 was 1153% for PUT Index, 830% for BXM Index, 807% for S&P 500® Index, and 368% for CLL Index (Exhibits 2 and 6).
Lower Volatility. The PUT, BXM, and CLL indices all had volatility that was about 30 percent lower than the volatility of the S&P 500 Index (Exhibit 4).
Left-tail Risk. Over the past 25 years, the worst monthly loss for the S&P 500 Index was a decline of 21.5 percent, compared to a relatively modest 8.6-percent monthly decline for the CLL Index (Exhibit 8e).
Risk-adjusted Returns. One measure of risk-adjusted returns, the Sortino Ratio, was 0.90 for the PUT Index, 0.75 for BXY, 0.71 for BXM, 0.50 for S&P 500, and 0.31 for CLL Index (Exhibits 10 and 11). Please note that all the indexes had negative skewness.
view An Analysis of Index Option Writing for Liquid Enhanced Risk-Adjusted Returns paper
Source: CBOE
BlackRock announces new head of EMEA iShares Capital Markets
February 14, 2012--BlackRock, has promoted Leland Clemons as head of EMEA iShares Capital Markets, effective immediately. He will report into Joe Linhares, head of iShares, EMEA. Clemons will lead the iShares Capital Markets team whose clients include intermediaries, private banks and wealth managers execute ETP trades more efficiently, and ultimately enhance their investment returns.
Previously Clemons as head of US iShaers Capital Markets at the firm.
The iShares Capital Markets team says that it leverages the scale and trading expertise of BlackRock, in order to help clients navigate the ETP landscape more effectively. The team claims to be positioned to help clients trade more cost efficiently by partnering with broker-dealers, trading venues and data providers across EMEA to identify the best sources of liquidity and trading data. But this new appointment is about leveraging growth opportunities in the ETF space as investing styles change.
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Source: FTSE Global Markets
ProShares files with the SEC
February 14, 2012--ProShares has filed a pre-effective amendment No.1 to Form S-1.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC
February 14, 2012--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend 30 Index Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Are Commission-Free ETFs Really Cheaper?
February 13, 2012--Commission-free exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a growing trend. While many mutual funds have long been without broker transaction fees, ETFs trade like stocks and most brokers charge a small fee (often under $10) to buy or sell an ETF.
Now many brokers offer select groups of ETFs that can be traded without any trading fees. But as the table below illustrates, the number and selection of commission-free ETFs differs widely.
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Source: Forbes
ISE Introduces Premium Access Connectivity
ISE Introduces Premium Access Connectivity
New 10 Gigabit Connection Offers Ultra-Low Latency to Subscribers
February 13, 2012--The International Securities Exchange (ISE) is now offering a Premium Access connection in its primary data center.
Premium Access subscribers will connect to ISE over Juniper Networks’ high performance, ultra-low latency 10 gigabit Ethernet switches. The introduction of the Juniper switches along with new network cards and a custom load balancing scheme will enable
member firms with a direct connection to ISE to reduce their roundtrip network latency by up to 150
microseconds, or approximately 90 percent.
Robert Cornish, ISE’s Technology Strategy and Infrastructure Officer, said, “As part of our data center and connectivity strategy, we are constantly evaluating ways to use innovative technologies and designs to lower latency and maximize performance. Premium Access offers member firms the ability to reduce their latency by accessing the exchange gateways and market data feeds through our ultra-low latency infrastructure.”
To learn more or to subscribe to Premium Access, please contact ISE Technology Member Services at
tms@ise.com. Fees for Premium Access are subject to SEC approval.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
