All posts by MarketsMuse Staff Reporter

ETF News

Why Isn’t Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) Served In Consumer Market ETFs?

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MarketsMuse.com ETF update is courtesy of exclusive reporting by Todd Shriber of ETFtrends.com with a tasty title:

No Burritos for ETF Investors as Funds Skimp on Chipotle

Todd Shriber, ETFtrends.com
Todd Shriber, ETFtrends.com

Shares of Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) have risen more than fivefold over the past five years. That performance and an almost $700 price tag solidify Chipotle’s status as storied, once-in-a-lifetime consumer discretionary growth stock on par with Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX) and Priceline (NasdaqGS: PCLN).

However, with Chipotle set to deliver its first-quarter earnings today after the close of U.S. markets, exchange traded fund investors are reminded of the difficulties of accessing the burrito maker’s shares via ETFs.

Just two ETFs feature Chipotle as a top 10 holding, according to S&P Capital IQ data. The PowerShares Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment Portfolio (NYSEArca: PEJ), which in the past has garnered weights of roughly 5% or more to Chipotle, currently does not own shares of the stock.

Lack of ETF access to Chipotle is punitive given the company’s penchant for delivering blow-out results.

“Consensus estimates call for EPS of $3.64, vs $2.64 a year earlier (+38%). The company has beat estimates in the past three quarters. Consensus for all-important comparable-store sales is +11.6%. This compares with with +16.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The other metric to watch out for is gross margin – in the fourth quarter, food costs grew 110bps and held back margin progression,” said Mischler Financial Group analyst Neil Currie in a note out today.

“Regarding comp-store sales, we think there is some potential for consensus to be beat. While the consensus estimate would represent a two-year stack of +25.0%, similar to Q4, we think three-year stacks have proved an important metric for CMG. Based on this consensus, the three-year stack would be +26.0%. This compares with around +30.0% for the past three quarters. It is conceivable that CMG’s reported comp-store sales could reach the 14-15% mark on this basis,” adds Currie.

TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY FROM ETFTRENDS.COM, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Strike Price

Best Execution Algos for Options Trading: Dash Dares To Be Different

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MarketsMuse.com Strike Price section profiles trading systems vendor Dash Financial algorithm-based approach to securing options market “best execution” in the ever-increasing world of options mart fragmentation and the wacky rebate schemes that have proliferated across the electronic options exchange landscape. Below is courtesy of extracted elements from MarketsMedia.com April 20 story “Parsing ‘Best Ex’ for Options Trades”

Achieving best execution in options trading can be far more complex than in equities because of exchanges’ multi-tiered pricing models, which results in hidden transaction fees that may negate the economics of a trade.

That’s according to David Karat, head of sales and marketing at algorithmic trading-technology company Dash Financial.

The equities world is complicated only by fragmentation, because the pricing schedule is based on whether one trades either as principal or agent, Karat explained. “You can go to an exchange and know what price tier your broker is at,” he said. “You know what the maker-taker fees or the rebates are.”

In options, pricing is dependent on a wider range of factors. Orders must be tagged whether they’re a customer, professional customer, broker/dealer or market maker. “All those capacities have different nuances, even the schedules for pricing,” Karat said. “It’s even got down to the point where you’ll have some basket of symbols that, based on certain criteria, if you traded it in a certain time, it will have a different rate structure.”

Dash Financial launched in 2011 to provide technology that would enable traders to gain a greater level of transparency into their orders. “The idea behind Dash was to build a firm that was completely transparent to the client using ‘best-of-breed’ technology and show the client everything that we did all the time,” Karat said. “We have a dashboard that shows every aspect of the routing as it’s happening. As the order trades, they’re seeing where we’re routing it, why we’re routing it that way and everything else.”

Dash Financial has launched Blitz, a trading algorithm focused on aggressive liquidity capture. One of the biggest issues facing the marketplace today is institutional traders’ inability to clear the screens as displayed on order arrival.

To continue reading the entire story from MarketsMedia.com, please click here

ETF News

A Black Eye For BlackRock China ETF?

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MarketsMuse.com ETF update profiles a less than tasty example of how not to select certain offerings from the menu of China ETF products with a snapshot of a seemingly sour taste investors might be left with after consuming Blackrock’s iShares FTSE A50 China Index (HKG: 2823). Below extract is courtesy of reporting by Bloomberg LP’s Elena Popina and Boris Korby “The 80% BlackRock ETF Return That Shortchanged China Stock Bulls.”

The $9.1 billion iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF, an exchange-traded fund designed to track returns of the 50 largest companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, has underperformed its benchmark by a whopping 29 percentage points on a total return basis over that span.

The cost to investors? More than $900 million in unrealized gains, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

ETFs such as BlackRock’s, which popularized the use of complex derivatives as a way for foreigners to tap into China’s growth potential, are now becoming unintended casualties as the nation opens up its capital markets. As more foreigners gain direct access to yuan-denominated A shares on mainland bourses, demand for the derivatives has plunged. That’s unmoored the ETFs from their benchmarks and robbed investors of returns.

“It’s not providing what it advertised to do,” Ajay Mehra, the head of equities at Salient Partners LP, which oversees $27 billion, including FTSE A50 China Index ETF shares, said by phone from New York. “This tracking error has led to substantial underperformance over the past year, which makes it less attractive as an access vehicle.”

Discount Widens Continue reading →

ETF News, People Profiles

Why Mutual Fund Guru Gundlach Is Now Embracing ETFs: A $TOTL $uccess

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MarketsMuse.com ETF update profiles the embracement of exchange-traded funds on the part of one of the investment industry’s most intriguing mutual fund innovators, courtesy of excerpt from 18 April 19 story from InvestmentNews.com

Jeffrey Gundlach is no stranger to striking out on his own or launching new products. After an acrimonious split with the TCW Group Inc. in 2009, he did just that, building what has become a $63 billion business with 12 mutual funds.

But when it came to starting an exchange-traded fund, his Los Angeles-based firm, DoubleLine Capital, needed some convincing, according to David LaValle, head of ETF capital markets in the U.S. at State Street Corp.’s money management unit.

“Why would they want to be in this space when [they] have a successful franchise,” said Mr. LaValle, speaking at an industry conference in New York on April 1. Ultimately, though, ETFs access “a totally different investor base” than mutual funds, Mr. LaValle said.

Mr. Gundlach has said he remains ambivalent about just how popular ETFs will become. But, on the sidelines of a massive ETF industry conference he keynoted in Hollywood, Fla., in January, he said he wasn’t going to take any chances. “I want to be involved, certainly, and not left behind,” he told a reporter.

In little more than a month since the launch of his first actively managed ETF, in partnership with State Street, the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) has become one of the largest ETFs of its kind. At $240 million, TOTL’s assets are still a pittance compared with the $117 billion in the world’s largest bond mutual fund, Pimco Total Return (PTTAX).

For the entire story from InvestmentNews.com, please click here

ETF News

Largest US Health Insurer Creates Spark In Health Care ETFs

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MarketsMuse blog update profiles the largest US health insurer’s stellar first-quarter and the effects it has on the market with ETFs such as iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (NYSEARCA: IHF) receiving a huge boost from the insurer. This MarketsMuse update is courtesy of SeekingAlpha’s article from Zacks Funds, “Play UnitedHealth Q1 Strength With This Health Care ETF”  with excerpts from the article below. 

The largest U.S. health insurer UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) reported blockbuster first-quarter 2015 results. It topped our estimates on both the top and the bottom lines as well as raised its full-year outlook.

UnitedHealth Q1 Results in Focus

Earnings per share came in at $1.46, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 and 32.7% better than the year-ago earnings. Revenues rose 13% year over year to $35.76 billion, edging past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $34.73 billion. The robust performance was driven by rising enrollments and strength in the Optum Health Services business.

Market Impact

The market has welcomed UNH’s earnings beat and its strong outlook. Shares of UNH jumped as much as 4.3% following its earnings announcement on elevated volumes, making it the biggest percentage gainer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index for the day.

Since UnitedHealth is the first insurer to report earnings and a bellwether, the result has spread optimism across the broad health insurance sector with stocks of other players in the space in green at the close on the day. Some of these players include Aetna (NYSE:AET) – up 3.2%, Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) – up 2.4%, Cigna (NYSE:CI) – up 2% and Humana (NYSE:HUM) – up 0.5%.

Given UnitedHealth’s strength to lift the health insurer corner of the broad health care space and the solid run up in its share price, one ETF – iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (NYSEARCA:IHF) – could be worth a look for investors seeking to ride out the recent surge. It has the largest allocation to this big giant and looks to be in focus in the coming days with room for upside.

Bottom Line

UNH’s earnings beat sent the stock higher on the day, thus becoming the cornerstone for other stocks in the space. A merger and acquisition frenzy and encouraging industry trends bode well for the health insurer stocks and the related ETFs.

Other ETFs like Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLV),Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:VHT), iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (NYSEARCA:IYH) and Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF (NYSEARCA:FHLC) also have a decent exposure to UnitedHealth in the range of 3-4%. These funds also have the potential to move higher on UNH strength in the coming days but with less momentum.

To read the entire article on health care ETFs from SeekingAlpha, click here.

Strike Price

BATS Is Up At Bat Again; Another Options Exchange Is Pitched

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MarketsMuse.com Strike Price update profiles the most recent plan for yet another Options trading platform on the part of BATS. Coverage is courtesy of TradersMagazine.

BATS Global Markets has announced they are opening a second U.S options marketplace, EDGX Options. According to BATS, EDGX Options will be based on a customer priority/pro rata allocation model. The new exchange will complement the BZX Options exchange, BATS’ first options market (previously called BATS Options), which is a price-time priority market.

The target date for the opening of the newest BATS marketplace is November 2015, pending SEC approval. The launch of EDGX Options will enable BATS to compete for a new segment of order flow that does not trade on the price-time markets that BATS currently operates, the exchange said in a release.

Brian Harkins, BATS
Bryan Harkins, BATS

According to Bryan Harkins, executive vice president and head of U.S. markets at BATS “With two-thirds of U.S. options market volume executed on exchanges with a pro rata model, we see a big opportunity to bring our innovative technology, operating efficiency, market leading pricing, and first-class customer service to help make markets better for participants in this segment of the market.” Added Harkins, “We are excited to build on our options momentum with the launch of EDGX Options, which we believe will complement our existing innovative BZX Options market.”

For the full coverage from TradersMag, please click here

ETF News

China Stock Craze Will Go A Step Further With First Leveraged ETF

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In the past year alone, investors have invested more than $2 billion into ETFs that invest in China’s stocks. MarketsMuse update profiles the new ETF, The Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Sharell 2X Shares (CHAU), this ETF is the first in China-focused ETF of its kind in the US. This MarketsMuse blog update is courtesy of Bloomberg Business’s Elena Popina and Boris Korby’s article “China Stock Frenzy Gets More Manic With First Leveraged ETF“, with an excerpt below. 

Want to double down on China’s world-beating stock rally? Now there’s an exchange-traded fund for that.

Direxion Investments is starting the first ETF that seeks to provide twice the daily return of mainland Chinese stocks using leverage, according to Andy O’Rourke, chief marketing officer for the New York-based fund provider.

The CSI 300 Index, which the ETF will track, has climbed to a seven-year high amid a frenzy of stock purchases by Chinese retail investors as the government eased monetary policy to counter a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. The ETF will be the first in the U.S. to use derivatives to amplify the return of mainland Chinese stocks, or so-called A shares, a market to which foreign investors until recently only had limited access.

“It was only a matter of time before a leveraged China A-share ETF came out trying to capitalize on the increased interest and flows into the area,” Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday.

To continue reading about this new ETF for China’s stocks, click here.

Fixed Income, People Profiles

Which BrokerDealer Does Dare To Be Different re D&I: The CITI That Never Sleeps

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MarketsMuse is known for being both a curator of financial market news as well as a part-time pontificating platform, and yet our altruistic editorial team actually likes to lean towards and forward to our followers select stories that profile the truly compelling “social-sensitive” initiatives spearheaded by Wall Street banks.

While it may come as a surprise to the universe of cynics, ‘feel good’ stories-i.e. those in which Wall Streeters are actually doing things to add to society and not just their wallets, do take place every day. Sadly, those snapshots are typically under-noticed or not advanced by the traditional business media outlets, who typically reserve “Wall Street Doing Good and Giving Back”- type stories for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day and limit those ‘profile pieces’ to a very short list of big-walleted sell-side advertisers.

(Shout out to anyone at CNBC who is reading this post, we hope you’re actually paying attention to this post!)..

Dean Chamberlain CEO, Mischler Financial
Dean Chamberlain CEO, Mischler Financial

Anyway, thanks entirely to the folks at Citigroup, along with minority-owned firms Mischler Financial Group and Williams Capital, Wall Street Leaders CAN and DO Dare to Be Different. This is best illustrated by Citi’s long-heralded, book-runner role for advancing Diversity & Inclusion initiatives aka “D&I” across Wall Street via alliances with aforementioned co-managers Mischler (the industry’s oldest firm owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans), Williams (the leading African-American owned BD) and corporate alliances with the likes of Toyota Motor Credit Corp., the combination of which helps promote the D&I message across the entirety of Main Street as well. Continue reading →

ETF News, Tech Talk

One New ETF Sets Itself Apart From The Rest

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MarketsMuse blog update profiles the new ETF, iShares Exponential Technologies ETF (XT), impress start. The ETF XT has collected over $600 million since its start in March of this year, this feat something only a few other new ETFs have been able to do. This MarketsMuse blog update is courtesy of Zacks Equity Research’s article, “Why Is This New ETF Growing So Fast?“, with an excerpt from below.  

The ETF industry has been growing by leaps and bounds since last year with issuers launching products with varied themes every now and then. While 2014 turned out a historic year for the ETF industry with assets hitting the $2 trillion (approximately) mark and over 180 ETFs being rolled out, 2015 took the story a step forward. A little over three months into the year, the industry has seen more than 65 launches with average market cap of the industry crossing $2.1 billion (read: 5 Very Successful ETF Launches of 2014). 

However, investors should note that all products do not witness an equal share of success. Some stand to gain massively and generate assets within a short span while some fail to secure investor interest and finally succumb to a shutdown. Let’s take a look at which new ETF, launched this year, emerged out as the best asset gather.

Inside iShares Exponential Technologies ETF (XT)

Investors might be surprised to know that this ETF has amassed over $600 million since its debut in March this year. It is a standard many ETFs fail to meet even after three years of launch. Apparently, the ETF saw this easy, or rather unimaginable success due to its unique investing objective.  

To continue reading about the success of the XT ETF, click here

Fixed Income, People Profiles, Tech Talk

Breaking News: Yet Another Corporate Bond Trading System: Bondcube

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Just when you thought the world of electronic bond trading had become saturated, MarketsMuse.com Fixed Income and Trading Tech departments continues coverage of the increasingly popular fixation on the part of entrepreneurs and technology firms, who have set up nearly two dozen new markets to trade corporate debt. In the rhetorical question posed by Bloomberg LP reporter John Detrixhe in his 15 April coverage of yet the latest entrant “BondCube”, the question is whether any of them will succeed.

In advance of the below extract from Bloomberg LP, MarketsMuse editors pose the following question: “Now that there are close on two dozen competing initiatives, which innovator from the world of FinTech will launch a platform that aggregates the APIs of the these disparate systems so as to provide a means by which bond traders can enter an order that will be seamlessly routed to the best destination for best execution? OK, So the likely answer is : Not until there are at least 4-5 systems that have demonstrated they have captured enough liquidity to make it worth the effort to build a fire hose for fixed income order routing. Here’s the extract from Bloomberg LP:

Paul Reynolds, CE0 Bondcube
Paul Reynolds, CE0 Bondcube

Bondcube, a London-based startup 30 percent owned by Deutsche Boerse AG, has gone live in the U.S. and Europe, according to a statement on Tuesday. The fixed-income market hosts securities denominated in 10 currencies, and averages about $300 million of orders a day.

“To simply start in this space as a new platform, never mind survive, you need a good idea, you need institutional financial support — in our case that is Deutsche Boerse,” said Paul Reynolds, Bondcube’s chief executive officer. “You need to be properly regulated. Unless you achieve those milestones, you’re not even going to start.” Continue reading →

ETF News

MarketsMuse Eye on Israel ETFs $EIS, $ISRA: Not Just Chopped Liver

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MarketsMuse.com ETF update is courtesy of extract from 15 April Zacks.com article published at SeekingAlpha.com

Despite endless economic and financial woes, as well as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Israeli stocks have been on the rise and are clearly outperforming its neighboring countries and the broad world market.

This is particularly true given that the iShares MSCI Israel Capped ETF (NYSEARCA:EIS) and the Market Vectors Israel ETF (NYSEARCA:ISRA) have gained in double digits so far this year. This is compared to the gains of 3.9% for WisdomTree Middle East Dividend ETF (NASDAQ:GULF), 6.3% for the SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (NYSEARCA:GAF), 5.2% for the iShares MSCI ACWI Index ETF (NASDAQ:ACWI) and 2.6% for the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY).

The strong gains came from the easing policies adopted by the Bank of Israel (BOI) to guard against the recent appreciation of the shekel and pull the country out of deflation. The BOI surprisingly reduced its interest rate by 15 bps to a record low of 0.10% in February that will likely boost economic growth and the inflation rate to 1-3% within a year, while maintaining financial stability. The bank could introduce further measures, matching Europe to stimulate growth in the economy, if required.

Israel remains one of the stable countries in the Middle East amid endless territorial disputes and security concerns. The country’s economy has proven to be quite resilient and strong compared to those of its neighboring nations. Israel is the dominant leader in technological innovation, which is pulling solid capital into the country. Continue reading →

ETF News

Oil ETF Investors Race For The Exits

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After pouring more than $6 billion into oil ETFs, investors are looking for a quick exit for two reasons: 1) the oil rebound might take much longer than originally expected and 2) the contango market is becoming an even bigger factor. This MarketsMuse blog update is courtesy of Reuters’ article “Look out OPEC! Oil ETF investors head for exit, risking new slump” with an excerpt below.

Oil investors who amassed a $6 billion long position in exchange traded funds, occupying as much as a third of the U.S. futures market, are now racing for the exit at a near record pace.

Outflows from four of the largest oil-specific exchange traded funds, including the largest U.S. Oil Fund (USO), reached $338 million in two weeks to April 8, according to data from ThomsonReuters Lipper. That is the first two-week outflow since September and the biggest since early 2014, marking a turnaround from heavy inflows in December and January on bets that oil prices would quickly rebound from six-year lows.

If the exodus gathers pace it could signal new pressure on crude oil prices that had begun to stabilize at around $50 a barrel this year following their 60 percent plunge, says John Kilduff, a partner at energy fund Again Capital LLC in New York.

Retail investors may have been “trying to bottom fish and got washed out with the recent new low,” he said.

To continue reading about the possibility of a new oil slump from Reuters, click here

Global Macro Strategy

Global Macro Angle: The Range Trade and Dow Theory

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MarketsMuse.com Global Macro update is courtesy of opening excerpt from 14 April a.m. edition of “Sight Beyond Sight”, published by global macro trading think tank Rareview Macro LLC and authored by Neil Azous.

The Range Trade in US Equities, Fixed Income, and Dollar Continues

SBS Model Portfolio Update

April 10, 2015 COB:+0.72% WTD, +1.04% MTD, +0.71% YTD

We walk in today with little inspiration and struggle to see where a fresh appetite for risk will come from.

Neil Azous, Rareview Macro
Neil Azous, Rareview Macro

The US dollar is back in its trading range relative to the euro. US fixed income is back playing ping pong between October and December for the first rate hike. A lot of bears want to argue that a trade below 2079 in the E-mini S&P 500 Futures opens up 2% more downside. We have sympathy for that view, especially considering that would be a very early referendum on earnings, and likely impact sentiment further. Our first thought is that we may just be incrementally re-pricing the very low index volatility backdrop seen at the end of last week which was highlighted by so many.

Additionally, we have seen these prices and that range many times in the recent past, so for today it’s the same thing as saying “My aunt has a cat.” By which we mean, ”Who cares?” Continue reading →

Fixed Income, People Profiles, Tech Talk

Electronic Trading of Corporate Bonds: Not All Rosy as TradeWeb Loses Leader Within Months of Joining

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TradeWeb’s Raazi is out after short stint pitching the merits of electronifying the corporate bond market.

MarketsMuse.com has made more than a few mentions about the recent decade’s corporate bond-centric electronic trading platform initiatives and those being spearheaded by the latest generation of altruistic sell-siders, buysiders, and the assortment of those in-between. Today’s MarketsMuse post within fixed income and trading tech sections profiling the surprise departure of e-trading giant TradeWeb’s recently appointed leader of their e-corporate bond strategy is a story that illustrates that even the seemingly smartest folks in the room are encountering the same obstacles that have derailed all but a very short list of ‘innovators’ in the electronic corporate bond trading space. The rapid rise and more rapid resignation of TradeWeb MD Mehra “Cactus” Raazi, who was appointed to the inglorious bastard role of Head of Credit just months ago, leads the rest of us [who are old enough] to hum one of George Gershwin’s great tunes made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers .. “Lets Call The Whole Thing Off..” Continue reading →

ETF News

ETFs Are Having A Record Breaking Year, Near $3 Trillion Mark

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MarketsMuse blog update profiles the record breaking year ETFs have had. As investors become more comfortable with the idea of  using ETFs as an investment strategy, ETFs continue to become more and more popular. ETFs’ assets have grown at an exponential rate over last ten years. In fact, ten years ago ETF assets totaled $230 billion in the US and now we near the $3 trillion marker. This MarketsMuse update is courtesy of ETFTrends’ Tom Lydon’s article “ETF Industry Closing in on $3 Trillion” with an extract below. 

ETFTrends-logoExchange traded funds are becoming a household name as investors have been piling into the investment vehicle, expanding the global ETF market toward $3 trillion in assets.

After attracting an additional $36.1 billion, global ETFs saw $97.2 billion in inflows over the first quarter, or almost triple the total for the same quarter year-over-year. [ETFs Haul in $36.1 Billion in March]

As of the end of February, assets invested in exchange traded products, which include both ETFs and exchange traded notes, globally reached a new record high of $2.919 trillion.

“The global ETF/ETP industry had 5,632 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,902 listings, from 245 providers listed on 63 exchanges in 51 countries,” according to ETFGI’s Deborah Fuhr. “We expect the assets to break through the US$3 trillion milestone in the first half of 2015.”

To continue reading the article from ETFTrends, click here.

ETF News

The Highly Anticipated Launch Of The Apple Watch Isn’t Reflecting In Its ETFs

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What time is it? Time for you to a buy a watch, an Apple Watch that is. After the announcement of the Apple Watch this past Fall, consumers have been waiting to get their hands on this product. Understandably so, investors couldn’t wait the launch either. With prices for an Apple Watch ranging from $349-$17,000, it will most likely bring a good return on investment. However, as pre-orders have been coming in for the Apple Watch, the same can’t be said for ETFs heavy on shares of Apple. MarketsMuse blog update profiling the little excitement in Apple ETFs is courtesy of ETF Trends, Todd Shriber, with an extract from his article, “Apple Watch a Non-Event for Apple ETFs” below.

ETFTrends-logoApple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) is taking preorders for its much ballyhooed Apple Watch. Or was taking preorders.

Nearly of the models made available to U.S. consumers sold out in just six hours and it looks the April 24 availability date announced by the company at the Apple Watch unveiling event last month is getting pushed back. Perhaps as far out as the third quarter.

“Whether due to high demand or low supply, all models of Apple Watch have now almost entirely sold out with many slipping delivery date estimates in mere minutes of preorders opening. In the US, the 38 mm Stainless Steel Case with Black Classic Buckle is the only model still on offer with a ‘April 24th – May 8th’ shipping date,” reports9to5Mac.com.

Unveiling a new product with preexisting, pent-up demand is old hat for Apple and that might explain the lack of enthusiasm for the blowout preorders being displayed by exchange traded funds heavy on shares of Apple. Even shares of California-based Apple are trading slightly lower today.

To read the full article from ETF Trends’ Todd Shriber, click here.

Strike Price

Instl Options Trading Liquidity Reined In By Regulatory Rules and Leverage Ratios

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MarketsMuse.com Strike Price update strikes at the heart of how the financial industry’s new regulatory regime is impacting liquidity across the institutional options market, courtesy of 09 April coverage by MarketsMedia.com.

marketsmedia logo april 15Regulatory requirements that dealers keep more capital on their balance sheets is squeezing options liquidity for institutional traders, who buy and sell the equity derivatives to generate alpha and hedge long- and short-term exposures in their portfolios.

“The regulatory environment is affecting liquidity and pricing for investors in option markets,” said John Burrello, senior trader at Invesco. “Basel III, Volcker, and Dodd-Frank have made broker-dealer balance sheet capacity more expensive – and that is being passed onto investors through wider bid/ask spreads and less capital commitment.”

The introduction of the leverage ratio – which has a target ratio of 3.0% under Basel III – is a hallmark risk-based capital requirement. Starting in 2015, banks will be required to disclose the leverage ratio, with a view to migrating it to a Pillar 1 requirement by 2018 after a final calibration

Basel III will have a significant impact on banks and force changes in the way trading and prime brokerage desks operate. Although these measures are aimed at the banking sector specifically, repercussions will be felt throughout the network of market and counterparty relationships which make up the global financial system.

This is especially true for investors looking to hedge longer-term exposures, “because dealers have to tie up that risk on their balance sheets,” said Burrello. “It has also affected even short-term tail hedging, because dealer stress-tests account for potential capital needed to take the other side of downside tail events.”

At the same time, custodians and prime brokers have started asking clients to hedge tail risk more aggressively in order to avoid increased collateral requirements. “As in other markets, like treasuries and credit, equity options could potentially become less liquid as a result of decreased broker-dealer balance sheet capacity,” Burrello said.

For the entire story from MarketsMedia.com, please click here

ETF News

ETF Providers Look To Level Playing Field

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MarketsMuse blog update profiles ETF providers pushing to level the playing field with their mutual fund competitors by pushing to gain more information on clients who invest in ETFs, just like mutual funds already do. A new initiative from the Canadian ETF Association is doing just that. An excerpt from The Globe and Mail’s article, “ETF providers want to know who’s buying” is below explaining more about the initiative.    

Exchange-traded fund providers say they’re at a disadvantage compared to their mutual fund competitors and are aiming to level the playing field with a new lobbying effort to obtain data on the financial advisers who sell ETFs.

The initiative, which is being spearheaded by the Canadian ETF Association (CETFA), will provide ETF companies with information on the financial advisers who are selling exchange-traded funds, and the breakdown on which funds they are selling to their clients. Mutual fund companies already receive such information.

If implemented, it could result in a surge of ETF sales within the Canadian marketplace.

The lack of adviser information has plagued the rapidly growing ETF industry, which competes in a market where investors are heavily invested in mutual funds. Canadians hold more than $1.22-trillion in mutual funds compared to $80-billion in ETFs, as of February, 2015.

Currently, ETF providers may receive a report from an individual investment firm that shows the total number of ETFs held by their clients. But the reports are not sent on a regular basis and do not include information on the individual financial advisers who purchase the funds on behalf of clients.

To read the rest of the article from the Globe and Mail, click here.