Expert ETF Trader: Liquidity Is There; Just Look Beyond…
In ETF News, People Profiles> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Other than the ETF market “go-go names”, one of the more commonly-voiced, and according to many, often-misguided observations regarding most ETFs is  “won’t trade it, there’s no liquidity in that name,”  or “the screens are only showing 1000 shares offered and I have to pay up 50 cents to buy a lousy 25,000 shares?!” As […] Read More

24 February, 2012

Tip-Toeing Into Social Media: Watch Wedbush
In People Profiles> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Whether you’re sitting inside a buy-side or a sell-side firm,  someone in your shop is talking about using social media. But, you’re compliance officer is saying  “Let’s let another shop experiment..we don’t need to be the SEC test case.” Well, Wedbush Securities isn’t standing on ceremony. Just a few years shy of their 60th birthday, […] Read More

24 February, 2012

2 More Studies Say: ETFs NOT to Blame for…
In ETF News, Tech Talk> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Here’s a wake-up call to critics of the ETF world: two more unrelated and just-published research studies have acquitted the ETF industry of charges leveled by critics who have claimed ETFs are at the root of heightened market volatility. In a newly-released report from the Investment Company Institute, which interrogated market volatility over the past […] Read More

23 February, 2012

High Yield Bond ETFs: InFlows “Off the Wall”
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
In a column filed through SFGate, Bloomberg LP’s Joe Ciolli reports, “Junk Bond ETFs are drawing the biggest inflows on record from investors seeking easier access to higher-yielding assets. According to Lipper Analytics, ETFs that track junk-bond indexes have tapped $5.5 billion of investments since the beginning of this year, almost quadruple the $1.4billion during […] Read More

23 February, 2012

ETF Market’s “Dame Deborah” Fuhr Launches Independent Research Firm
In ETF News, People Profiles> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Debbie Fuhr, the undisputed “Dame” of the exchange-traded-funds industry, and most recently BlackRock’s Managing Director and global head of ETF research and implementation will open the doors of a new independent research firm, “ETF Global Insight” next Monday. Prior to Debbie’s 3-year stint at BlackRock/BGI, she was billeted for 11 years at Morgan Stanley’s London […] Read More

23 February, 2012

PIMCO Primes The Pump for Launch of ETF
In ETF News, Tech Talk> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Its countdown time for all of those following PIMCO’s entry into the ETF space; on March 1,  the House that Bill Gross Built is scheduled to debut The PIMCO Total Return Exchange-Traded Fund under the ticker TRXT. Those that click on the link to the fund will be able to review the entire prospectus. According […] Read More

22 February, 2012

Amsterdam Hosting 3rd Annual InsideETFs Europe
In ETF News, Global Macro Strategy, People Profiles> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Where’s a better place than Amsterdam for an International ETF conference in the month of May? Our global concierge says,  “No place compares to Amsterdam, for a variety of reasons!” Which is exactly why IndexUniverse, the largest ETF conference producer, is once again hosting its “Annual InsideETFsEurope” for the third year in one of the […] Read More

22 February, 2012

UK Wrap Platforms Wrapping Arms Around ETFs
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
As reported by FT.com, retail investors in the UK are rapidly wrapping their arms around ETF products, and platform providers are ramping up their offerings to facilitate the burgeoning growth in what is already a ubiquitous product in the US.   According to the FT.com story, David Bower, head of iShares UK, said the ETF […] Read More

22 February, 2012

HFTs Hampering Trade in ETFs? SEC Wants to Know.
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
As reported by Reuters, U.S. securities regulators have widened their inquiry into the trillion-dollar market for exchange-traded funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prompted by a delay in a big trade at a popular ETF, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a closer look at a possible connection between high-frequency […] Read More

21 February, 2012

ETF Fund Flow: Trumping Mutual Funds
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
According to technology and trading firm ConvergEx Group, during the first 6 weeks of 2012, more than $8 billion has flowed in to U.S. Equity ETFs, while nearly $8 billion has “flown out” of U.S. equity mutual funds. “Some of the commentary surrounding these products has made them sound like the hoof beats which precede […] Read More

21 February, 2012

Bullion Bulls Back Buying SPDR Gold (GLD)?
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Despite cutting his GLD holdings at the end of 2011, Billionaire John Paulson is, according to a letter to investors obtained by Bloomberg LP, bullish on bullion, and adding to his 17 million+ share position in the yellow metal ETF. Similar stellar hedge fund managers, who have been trading the trend and more recently cashed […] Read More

21 February, 2012

“Navesis-ETF” Launches Today: 1st Euro-based Alternative Trading System for…
In ETF News, Tech Talk> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
A joint partnership between Normua Holdings and inter-dealer broker Tradition PLC formalized the launch of the ETF industry’s first electronic exchange platform.  Based in London and designed for the European theatre, where ETF transparency is often problematic, “Navesis-ETF” is  intended to provide “qualified customers” the ability to trade ETFs in real-time, and enable investors to […] Read More

21 February, 2012

Bogle Boggles and Balks re: ETFs
In ETF News, People Profiles> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
In the category of  “He who speaks with forked tongue…” Index Icon and Vanguard Group founder John Bogle once again threw a curve ball while speaking at today’s Bloomberg Portfolio Manager Mash-Up. Stating “ETFs are the greatest trading innovation of the 21st century,” what the Midas of Mutual Funds added with a big (*) was […] Read More

16 February, 2012

iShares Adds More Junk (Bond) ETFs
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
[slideshow] For those raising their hands high and asking for more high yield bond ETFs, iShares is serving up two more corporate bond ETFs that “will cover a spectrum of credit quality ranging from low-investment-grade to junk bonds.” Both of the new funds will own corporates issued in US dollars, euros, British pounds and Canadian […] Read More

16 February, 2012

“Agency-Only Execution Firm” To Seed Hedge Fund Clients
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
Cantor Fitzgerald, the “broker’s broker” that literally rose from the ashes of 9/11 to rebuild its business trafficking in multiple product types, including ETFs and options, and positions itself as an “agency-only” aka “conflict-free” broker, today announced the second phase of its plan to expand into the [often-conflicted] territory of hedge-fund seeding. As reported by […] Read More

15 February, 2012

First Trust Launches More Intl. ETFs
In ETF News> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
First Trust, the issuer of the first cloud computing ETF (SKYY) announced today they’ll be coming to market with a basket full of fun in their AlphaDEX Fund series. Up to the plate for trading on Wednesday is a first string list of products: First Trust Canada AlphaDEX (NYSEArca : FCAN),  First Trust Germany AlphaDEX […] Read More

14 February, 2012

Andaz-Hungry (& Thirsty!) Trader Destination
In Global Macro Strategy> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
If you’re visiting your favorite broker (the one that’s got a real Wall Street address), Andaz is the place to see and be seen. Great menu with broad selections, great surroundings, and a comfortable place to crash if the market….well, you know what the next word is. Located at 75 Wall Street. Click on the […] Read More

14 February, 2012

No Free Luch Re: “Commission-Free” ETFs
In Global Macro Strategy> By MarketsMuse Staff Reporter
As observed by Forbes contributor Janet Brown, it seems the race to zero is becoming rampant in the brokerage community when promoting “commission-free trading for ETFs.” A closer look at the story tells us that discount broker talk is even cheaper than the commissions, and RIAs (and others) should read the fine print imbedded in […] Read More

14 February, 2012