ETF Roundup: August 20
Source: http://www.indexuniverse.com/sections/newsinfocus/6356-etf-roundup-august-20.html?Itemid=3&utm_source=straightstocks.com&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=rssPosted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 | In Exchange Traded Funds, Market Commentary
Law Firms Threatening Action Against Leveraged ETF Providers
At least two law firms say they’re talking to clients who use leveraged exchange-traded funds about potential lawsuits against the funds’ providers.
The list is large and includes ETFs sponsored by ProShares, PowerShares, Direxion and ETF Securities, which recently entered the U.S. (see story here.)
How do we know this? The law firms, of course, put out a press release. You can read it here.
Two Deutsche Bank Funds Hit By CTFC Ruling
A pair of PowerShares-DB commodity ETFs will be curtailed in how much they can buy in soybeans, wheat and corn due to a decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
You can read this Bloomberg News report for more details. Also, check Matt Hougan’s blog here.
SSgA’s Hoguet: Sovereign Wealth Funds To Buy SDRs
Special drawing rights, or SDRs, are what the International Monetary Fund uses internally as currency markers to traverse its global reach. China has nominated SDRs as a natural new world currency, replacing—or complementing—the de facto U.S. dollar.
When the suggestion was made, critics voiced their displeasure at the notion. But now, according to this interesting Reuters report, several big sovereign wealth funds are considering buying SDRs.
The report is based on information supplied by George Hoguet, a State Street Global Advisors emerging markets expert. (His work has been profiled at IndexUniverse.com several times in the past few years, including a Q&A earlier this year.)
You can read the Reuters story here.
Fidelity President Looking For Successor
Rodger Lawson, who took over as president of Fidelity Investments in 2007, tells Bloomberg News he’s looking for a replacement. The position has been a bit of a revolving door at the mutual funds giant in recent years.
The story addresses that issue and also includes Lawson’s rebuttal of Morningstar data showing the company is lagging its peers in performance, particularly compared with arch rival Vanguard. (For more about the battle between Vanguard and its competitors, see related story here.)
You can read the Bloomberg interview with Lawson here.
In related news, Fidelity says its assets rose to $2.8 trillion. See a Wall Street Journal story on the firm’s finances here.
Hedge Fund Bets Big On Natural Gas Prices
It might be interesting to note that with all of the furor going on over UNG and commodities markets, a hedge fund has apparently made a rather large bet that natural gas prices will triple by winter.
The Financial Times story also gets into the most recent forecasts for the market from analysts and their reaction to the unusual play.
You can read the story here.
Last 5 posts by IndexUniverse Staff
- Will UNL Beat UNG? - November 19th, 2009
- A Real Hedge Fund ETF? - November 17th, 2009
- ProShares’ Positive Tax Surprise? - November 17th, 2009
- Better Than Cash? - November 17th, 2009
- Stoxx Indexes Bought; Company Valued At $900M - November 13th, 2009
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 About IndexUniverse Staff (http://indexuniverse.com)
IndexUniverse encompasses the world of indexing and beyond. Our website and related subsites cover product and market developments related to index funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index derivatives (futures / options / swaps), and the sophisticated investment strategies which use these financial tools. Our goal is to provide the industry's best news, columns, research, and features about the dynamic field of index-based investing and trading. Industry professionals, individual investors, business/finance students and academic researchers will find various features targeting their interests and needs. We also provide valuable tools and data to assess markets and investment products, and specialized discussion boards for our registered members to exchange cutting-edge ideas and market views. We aim to be educational, thought-provoking, and most importantly, rigorously independent in our perspective. The development of IndexUniverse was a global effort, originally led by Steven Schoenfeld and Jim Wiandt, supported by John Spence and a diverse team in the U.S., Europe and Latin America, and enhanced by editorial contributors from around the world. The site is now managed solely by Jim Wiandt and the global Index Publications LLC team. The site was originally started by Steven as a data and information complement to his book, Active Index Investing, published by Wiley Finance in July 2004. As he recognized the need and potential for such a resource, in August 2003, Steven partnered with Jim, who as editor of The Journal of Indexes similarly recognized the industry's need for timely, useful and independent information on products and markets. |
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