Archive for May 2013

NYSE Euronext celebrates 10th anniversary of Intellidex Indices

May 17th, 2013 | By
NYSE Euronext celebrates 10th anniversary of Intellidex Indices

NYSE Euronext, a leading exchange operator and index provider, has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Intellidex Indices. The indices, which debuted in 2003, were designed to identify those stocks within a particular market segment that have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Following their immediate licensing to Invesco PowerShares, to serve as the basis for a range of ‘Dynamic Portfolios’ exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the indices were among the first ‘smart beta’ benchmarks to be adopted by the ETF industry.


SSgA SPDR launches global and pan-Asian ‘Dividend Aristocrats’ ETFs

May 16th, 2013 | By
SSgA SPDR launches global and pan-Asia ‘Dividend Aristocrats’ ETFs

SPDR ETFs, the exchange-traded funds platform of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has expanded its equity income line-up with the launch of global and pan-Asian ‘Dividend Aristocrats’ ETFs on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse (Xetra). Scott Ebner, head of global product development at SSgA, said: “Our approach to dividend investing at SPDRs has been centred around indices that not only favour high-yielding stocks, but also focus on the sustainability of yield”.


China’s first cross-border ETF begins trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

May 16th, 2013 | By
China's first cross-border ETF begins trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

China’s first cross-border exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Guotai Nasdaq-100 ETF (513100), has begun trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The fund is linked to the Nasdaq-100 Index and is sponsored by Guotai Asset Management, one of the longest-established fund management companies in China. The fund’s launch represents a significant development for the burgeoning exchange-traded product market in China.


PowerShares adds emerging markets to fundamentals-weighted fixed income ETF line-up

May 16th, 2013 | By
Invesco PowerShares launches global short-term high-yield bond ETF (PGHY)

Invesco PowerShares, a global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the PowerShares Fundamental Emerging Markets Local Debt Portfolio ETF (PFEM). The fund provides investors with exposure to emerging market sovereign debt denominated in local currencies. Unlike most fixed income ETF indices, which typically use some form of market-cap weighting, the fund’s index is weighted based on constituent country’s economic footprint.


Hedge fund ETF provider IndexIQ surpasses $1 billion in assets

May 16th, 2013 | By
Hedge fund ETF provider IndexIQ surpasses $1 billion in assets

IndexIQ, a US-based specialist provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), best known for its hedge fund-style products, has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management. Adam Patti, IndexIQ’s chief executive officer, said: “In a few short years, liquid alternatives have gone from a novelty to playing an important role in a diversified investment portfolio and we’ve seen strong interest in our offerings from the institutional and retail advisor channels.”


Why are so few investors buying consumer staples ETFs?

May 14th, 2013 | By
Why are so few investors buying consumer staples ETFs? By David Stevenson

By David Stevenson – Why are so few investors currently buying into consumer staples sector ETFs? I realise that this isn’t exactly one of those raging questions that ranks up there alongside “should we dump Europe?” and “why, oh, why are most of the singers on The Voice so bloody awful?”, but for investors I think the question really, really matters. To understand why I’m so nonplussed, let’s rewind the investment debate and establish some basic principles. The first and most basic principle is that investors worldwide are fearful about macro risk.


S&P Dow Jones rolls out S&P 500 Buyback Index

May 14th, 2013 | By
Invesco’s US Treasury Bond 7-10 year ETF swells to over $1bn AUM

S&P Dow Jones Indices has unveiled the S&P 500 Buyback Index, a new index tracking the performance of the S&P 500 constituents with the largest stock buyback programmes. The methodology behind the index, which has been designed to underlie index-linked products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is refreshingly simple. Essentially, the index measures the performance of the top 100 stocks with the highest buyback ratio in the S&P 500 in the last 12 months. It has outperformed the S&P 500 over one, three and five years.


iShares’ Stephen Cohen outlines four ETF strategies for an uncertain quarter

May 13th, 2013 | By
iShares’ Stephen Cohen outlines four ETF strategies for an uncertain quarter

Asset class performance has been very mixed so far this year with currency volatility re-awakened and softening global economic data suggesting more difficult times ahead, according to Stephen Cohen, Head of iShares EMEA Investment Strategy & Insight. So what can investors do? Cohen proposes four strategies: overweighting defensive equities and equity income; using developed market equities to access emerging markets; playing Japan via a currency-hedged solution; and mitigating interest rate risk in fixed income and looking at local currency emerging markets debt.


Stoxx expands Euro Stoxx 50 covered-call index series

May 13th, 2013 | By
Stoxx launches emerging markets exposure index for Europe

Stoxx, a leading index provider, has introduced the Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index. The index measures the performance of a buy-write or covered-call strategy based on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, the eurozone’s leading blue-chip equity index. The new index, which has been designed to underlie index-linked financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), represents a hypothetical portfolio of a long position in the Euro Stoxx 50 and a sold – or written – call option based on the same index.


BATS Chi-X Europe approved for primary ETF listings

May 13th, 2013 | By
BATS Chi-X Europe unveils ETF transparency initiative

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has approved BATS Global Markets’ application for its BATS Chi-X Europe platform to be granted Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) status. The new status, which takes effect on 20 May 2013, means BATS will be able to compete against mainstream European exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Borse, for primary listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).