Tag Archives: ETF redemption

ETF News, Fixed Income

New Rules: SEC Set to Level Playing Field for ETF Issuers

Leave a comment

Are you beginning to wonder why there is an avalanche of news stories profiling corporate bond ETFs? As we’ve posted here at MarketsMuse.com, one good reason might be rising concerns that when interest rates tick up and bond prices tick down, there could be a rush to the exits on the part of investment managers seeking to sell their corporate bond ETFs (or looking to sell select ETFs so as to hedge portfolio exposure in underlying issues held by these managers). Reuters’ Jessica Toonkel and Ashley Lau touch on that topic in recent story profiling a plan on the part of the SEC to “level the playing field” for newer firms entering the ETF Issuer club.

Here’s the extract:

By Jessica Toonkel and Ashley Lau

Reuters – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may strip Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp, the oldest and biggest providers of exchange-traded funds, of an advantage they hold over newer rivals in how they assemble the shares of their funds, said sources familiar with the SEC.

etf-issuer-sec-level-playing-fieldsBut BlackRock, Vanguard and a few others, who were among the first to apply with the SEC to create ETFs, are allowed greater leeway: if they need a difficult-to-find security to create shares of their funds, they are permitted to use a similar security – not necessarily the same one – in the fund. This greater flexibility makes it easier and cheaper to run the older funds, and harder for newer entrants into the market such as Northern Trust, Van Eck Global and Charles Schwab Corp to compete.

The agency’s tentative plan – still in its early stages – would affect how companies manage their portfolios in illiquid markets, such as bonds. It may result in allowing the likes of Schwab to compete better with their older rivals, as well as manage their existing bond products at a lower cost.

The agency’s tentative plan – still in its early stages – would affect how companies manage their portfolios in illiquid markets, such as bonds. It may result in allowing the likes of Schwab to compete better with their older rivals, as well as manage their existing bond products at a lower cost.

For the full story from Reuters’ Jessica Toonkel and Ashley Lau, please click here

ETF News, Fixed Income

Corporate Bond ETFs and Liquidity: A Looming Black Swan or Extended Contango?

Leave a comment

MarketsMuse update inspired by yesterday’s column by Tom Lydon/ETFtrends.com and smacks at the heart of what certain “bomb throwers” believe could be a Black Swan event, albeit an event that may not be driven by a global crisis or surprise economic event. The event in question will, in theory, take place when interest rates start ticking up (and underlying corporate bond prices tick down) and institutional bond fund managers find themselves trying to figure out whether to simply suffer from mark-downs (and performance) or to continue collecting coupons until the issues they hold mature.

MM Editor Note: Since most folks know that bond managers are akin to lemmings (no disrespect intended!) and typically follow each other like blind mice, given the massive size of the corporate market place, a potential avalanche could take place when everyone runs for the exit if rates tick up and simultaneously, the economy starts to slow. Wall Street dealers are certainly not going to be available to catch those falling knives, simply because new regulations have put a crimp in the capital they can commit to warehousing positions. Worse still, its easy to envision one very long contango event, where the cash ETF trades at a discount to the value of the underlying bonds, simply because one won’t be able to sell those underlying bonds in any type of material size.

Here’s an opening extract from Tom Lydon’s piece “Liquidity Concerns In Corporate Bond ETFs”: Continue reading →