Americas ETP News
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CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues Interpretative Guidance to Equity REITs and Certain Securitization Funds
October 11, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight today issued interpretative guidance letters to equity real estate investment trusts and asset-backed securities funds.
The guidance states that equity real estate investment trusts and securitization funds that meet certain criteria are not included within the definition of “commodity pool” and their operators are not “commodity pool operators” under the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s regulations.
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Source: CFTC.gov
PIMCO Total Return ETF Clears $3 Billion in Assets
October 11, 2012--PIMCO Total Return ETFNASDAQ:BOND, which continues to set records as the fastest-growing actively managed exchange-traded fund in history, hit yet another milestone this past week in crossing the $3 billion mark in assets.
Seven months in, the new ETF not only is the largest active ETF around, but it also has meaningfully outperformed the PIMCO Total ReturnNASDAQ:PTTRX open-end mutual fund, which is the largest U.S mutual fund. The ETF continues to surpass most people's expectations. BOND also is well ahead of the second-largest actively managed ETF, sibling PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy ETF NASDAQ:MINT, which has a little more than $2 billion in assets. After that in the actively managed ETF world is WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt NASDAQ:ELD, which has about $1.36 billion.
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Source: MSN Money
FlexShares Enters Actively Managed ETF Space
Launches Ready Access Variable Income Fund
October 11, 2012--FlexShares(R) Exchange Traded Funds, sponsored and managed by Northern Trust, today launched its first actively managed ETF, a cash management fund designed for liquidity-focused investors seeking higher yields (NYS: RAVI).
The RAVI ETF has a variable net asset value (NAV) and can invest beyond the limits of traditional money market funds.
RAVI, reflecting decades of Northern Trust's cash investing experience, provides investors with liquidity via its shorter term holdings and the daily trading feature of an ETF. The fund invests in a global portfolio of investment grade fixed-income instruments, such as bonds, debt securities and other debt issued by governments, corporations and banks.
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Source: Daily Finance
Morgan Stanley-John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund (BTO) to Change Investment Policy and Name
October 11, 2012--On 10/3/12, John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund
(BTO) announced plans to broaden its investment policy to include
all financial services companies, including foreign companies. In
conjunction, the fund will change its name to John Hancock,Financial Opportunities Fund; however, the ticker will remain the same.
These changes are expected to begin being implemented on or around 12/14/12.
Additionally, on 1/18/13, BTO will hold a Special Meeting of Shareholders to vote to amend the fund’s fundamental investment restriction to permit BTO to leverage its portfolio through a credit
facility. Last, we discuss BTO’s distribution policy change and
distribution increase announced on 8/13/12.
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Source: Morgan Stanley
The Derivatives Revolution Begins (Tomorrow)
October 11, 2012--For friends and foes of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, tomorrow is a big day. Regulations covering the $648 trillion swaps market finally start to take effect.
In historical terms, that’s as important as when the 1930s securities laws went into force.
Banks and other trading outfits must begin tallying their trades to determine whether they will be deemed “swaps dealers” subject to the strict capital and collateral standards Dodd- Frank allows. The rules will bring a new era of transparency to a business that thrives off opacity.
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Source: Bloomberg
Goldman Ends Exhaustive Muppet Hunt
October 11, 2012--Following the publication of Greg Smith's resignation letter in the New York Times on March 14, 2012, Goldman Sachs launched an an investigation known internally as the "Muppet hunt" to determine if Goldman employees did in fact refer to clients as "Muppets."
The Muppet claim was perhaps one of the more memorable of Smith’s famous allegations in his letter, which tore apart the culture of his former employer.
Seven months later, Goldman has concluded the internal investigation, and has turned up very little evidence to substantiate Smith’s claims. After interviewing dozens of employees and searching through millions of e-mails, only 4,000 Muppet references were found, and 99% of those referred to the movie, reports the Financial Times.
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Source: CompliancEX
Deutsche Bank-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America-ETF+ Monthly Directory-September 2012 ETPs
October 10, 2012--This document includes all US listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded vehicles (ETVs), plus a special section covering exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The directory is organized by asset class and asset-class-related sub sections.
Within each sub section it has also been sorted. For Equity and Fixed Income ETPs it is sorted by country (or sub region for regional products) in alphabetical order and by AUM in descending order, and for the other ETP asset classes it is sorted by sub sector in alphabetical order and by AUM in descending order. A number of key information points per product has been included in order to enable the reader to get an overview in their respective area of interest. Among the key numeric information we include avg. daily turnover, assets under management, and cash flows (all in $US).
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Source: Deutsche Bank - Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy - North America
SSGA-US ETF Snapshot: September 2012
October 10, 2012--SNAPSHOT OVERVIEW
1,263 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)-with assets totaling $1.3TN-were managed by 38 ETF managers as of September 30, 2012
Month over month, ETF assets increased $63.0BN, up 5.1%.
Significant gains in the Size - Large Cap, International - Emerging, and Commodity categories fueled a 5.1% increase in assets in September.
STATE STREET HIGHLIGHTS, SEPTEMBER 2012
Election 2012: How to Respond
◦With polarized political parties and a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the direction of economic policy, investors should consider the investment opportunities that exist with a victory by Republican candidate Mitt Romney or a reelection of President Obama. Further, it may be worth understanding the long-term challenges that face the US and what investments may be best suited for strength should an indecisive political environment remain in place.
◦With the benefits of efficiency, transparency and the flexibility that ETFs offer, financial advisors and institutions can make shifts to position portfolios for these outcomes now.
For more information, including product fact sheets, related whitepapers or to read more visit www.spdrs.com.
Source: State Street Global Advisors
CFTC Staff Responds to Questions on Start of Swap Data Reporting
October 10, 2012--Today, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff is responding to questions from market participants and other interested parties on the timing of when counterparties will be required to report swap pricing and transaction data as required under part 45 of the Commission's regulations.1
The CFTC is issuing a Q & A document to help market participants better understand the rule, the reporting that is required and who has the obligation to report.
The Q & A document on the Start of Swap Data Reporting is available on the Commission website at
http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/DoddFrankAct/Rulemakings/DF_17_Recordkeeping/index.htm.
Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC Staff Responds to Frequently Asked Questions on the Reporting of Cleared Swaps
October 10, 2012--Today, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff is responding to frequently asked questions from market participants and other interested parties on the reporting of cleared swaps as required under part 45 of the Commission's regulations.
The CFTC is issuing a FAQ document to help market participants better understand how to report cleared swaps, who has the obligation to report and the timing of reporting.
The FAQ document on the Reporting of Cleared Swaps is available on the Commission website at
http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/DoddFrankAct/Rulemakings/DF_17_Recordkeeping/index.htm.
Source: CFTC.gov
