Nearly a year after the Knight Capital glitch, two major stock exchanges have taken big steps to help market-makers do their job better. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gave the go-ahead to the NYSE to implement a market-maker incentive program to help improve liquidity and efficiency in the trading of some smaller exchange-traded funds.
As more and more managers seek to deliver the benefits of ETFs to their pension clients, managed portfolios could see a lot of interest from institutions looking for cheaper ways to diversify.
Are you coming to the 2013 Risk Management Conference? If not, you'll be missing out on our roster of expert speakers from around the world.
Demand for low-vol stocks has temporarily at least taken the slow and steady out of the equation as investor demand has pushed those stocks to the top of the S&P 500. The question is, What happens if and when low-vol prices start to decline to more reasonable valuations? Could a bubble be brewing in low-vol ETFs and other products that aim to deliver minimum volatility?
According to Greenwich, tracking error and the type of benchmark used aren't at the top of the shopping list for institutions looking for exchange-traded funds. They should be—especially if pensions continue to use them strategically.
A new paper looks at the role of consultants in creating the financial crisis.
The Greenwich Associates Survey on U.S. ETFs shows how more and more institutional investors are viewing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a strategic lens rather than just as a tactical, short-term tool.
Dan Foster and Duncan Burrill on what their plans are doing with alternatives.
It’s a promise that’s getting harder to keep. Sponsors of Canada’s DB pension plans are struggling against formidable odds to keep the pension promise alive for members, retirees and future members as equity markets roil and interest rates remain depressingly low in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
After years of languishing in the shadows of global finance, Japan is getting ready for its comeback close-up. At least that’s what investors are hoping for as they respond to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attempts to pump some life into Japan’s economy with a US$1.4 trillion whack of stimulus. So far, in 2013, the two top-selling exchange-traded funds both invest in Japan—the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity has attracted $4.8 billion year to date, while iShares MSCI Japan is $3.3 billion fatter since the beginning of the year.