Nasdaq Index Blog - Archive Posts for July, 2013

The Demand for Leveraged ETFs Continues to Multiply By: Rob Hughes
on 7/25/2013

By David Fabian, NASDAQ OMX Guest Contributor

Leveraged ETFs are some of the most widely respected and feared investment vehicles to come to market in the last 10 years. They are lauded by hedge funds, professional investors, and day traders as excellent tools to access a specific index and quickly magnify your returns. However, they have also been derided by traditional Wall Street brokers and media outlets as a dangerous weapon in the hands of unsuspecting investors. Whichever side of the argument for leveraged ETFs that you come down on, you can’t deny the continued demand and success of these sophisticated investment vehicles.

Read the entire article.

Top ETF Industry Trends and Strategies in the First Half of 2013 By: Rob Hughes
on 7/24/2013

In the first half of 2013, just one new ETF/ETP launched in the US joined the exclusive blockbuster or Billion Dollar Club.

Many ETF/ETP managers adjust their product offerings hoping to create and develop best-selling products that will enter the exclusive blockbuster or Billion Dollar Club, a milestone that indicates $1 billion in assets under management. Popular with investors, these are profitable and blockbuster products for firms. At the end of H1 2013, there were 1,478 ETFs/ETPs with assets of $1.44 trillion from 54 providers listed on three exchanges in the United States.

Just 14% or 201 of the ETFs/ETPs listed in the US have joined the exclusive blockbuster or Billion Dollar Club. The top 100 ETFs/ETPs ranked by assets, out of the 1,478, account for just over three quarters of the $1.44 trillion in assets. The top 20 or the top 1% of all ETFs/ETPs ranked by assets account for 40% of all assets.

Read Debbie Fuhr's entire Q1-Q2 recap.

 

DMS Funds Ring NASDAQ Opening Bell Celebrating Launch of U.S. Mutual Fund on Baltic Index Updated: 7/24/2013

In celebration of the launch of the first U.S. Mutual Fund based on the OMX Baltic Benchmark Index, DMS Funds employees joined CEO Peter Kohli to ring the NASDAQ Opening Bell on Tuesday, July 23. The OMX Baltic Benchmark index consists of the largest and most traded stocks on the NASDAQ OMX Baltic Market.

DMS Funds offers mutual funds based on established stock exchange and sector benchmark indexes in emerging and frontier markets.

NASDAQ Global Index Family Expands by 21,000 Indexes Updated: 7/15/2013

Product sponsors, portfolio managers and other market participants now have even more choices when it comes to benchmarks for Global Equities. The NASDAQ Global Index Family is now calculated in USD, AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, JPY and select local currencies to better meet the needs of the financial community. Totaling over 25,000 indexes, the complete family includes approximately 9,000 securities broken down by market segment, region, country, size and sector. Our rules-based selection criteria ensure that the family is a transparent and investable benchmark for the global equity market.

A differentiator from other global equity offerings is NASDAQ OMX’s segment designation process: NASDAQ OMX first determines and assigns all countries that fall within the Developed Markets segment. Countries that do not qualify for the Developed Markets segment are then reviewed using the criteria for Emerging Markets. View the methodology to learn more about our quantitative and qualitative approach.

"The expansion of the NASDAQ Global Index Family into various currencies underscores our premier global index operation," said NASDAQ OMX Executive Vice President John Jacobs. "We recognized the need for cost-effective benchmark alternatives in multiple currencies. With the addition of these indexes, market participants can more effectively gauge and manage currency exposure as they track global equities."

View the press release.

 New Names in the NDX-100 Updated: 7/15/2013

Recent changes have occurred to the NASDAQ-100 Index. We are excited to welcome the following companies into this well-known large cap index:

  • 6/5/13 Liberty Media Corporation (LMCA) replaced Virgin Media Inc. (VMED)
  • 6/6/13 Netflix Inc. (NFLX) replaced Perrigo Company (PRGO)
  • 7/15/13 Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) replaced Oracle Corporation (ORCL)
  • 7/25/13 Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR) replaced BMC Software (BMC)

 

Europe’s First Palladium ETP Updated: 7/11/2013

BOOST ETP has launched nine new leveraged and inverse ETPs in the United Kingdom that are based on indexes in the NASDAQ Commodity Index Family. These are the second set of BOOST ETP products linked to this family, bringing the total number of BOOST NASDAQ Commodity Index linked products to 25.

Product                           LSE Code           Leverage Factor 
Boost Palladium 1x Short Daily ETP 1PAS -1x
Boost Palladium 2x Leverage Daily ETP 2PAL +2x
Boost Gold 2x Short Daily ETP                 2GOS -2x
Boost Gold 1x Short Daily ETP                 1GOS -1x
Boost Gold 2x Leverage Daily ETP         2GOL +2x
Boost Silver 2x Short Daily ETP         2SIS -2x
Boost Silver 2x Leverage Daily ETP 2SIL +2x
Boost Natural Gas 2x Short Daily ETP 2NGS -2x
Boost Natural Gas 2x Leverage Daily ETP 2NGL +2x
 
“The introduction of these commodity ETPs reaffirms the success of our index construction and our rules-based, objective and transparent index methodology,” said John Jacobs, NASDAQ OMX EVP and Head of Global Information Services. “BOOST ETP has again succeeded in leveraging our indexes to quickly and efficiently develop innovative products for a wide range of investors.”

Global assets under management for short and leveraged ETPs increased 12% to $49.3 billion this year through May 31, 2013, according to BOOST ETP.

Read our press release, BOOST ETP’s education resources, or visit our Commodity Indexes page for more information.

What Differentiates the NASDAQ Dividend Achievers Indexes? Updated: 7/8/2013

There are many dividend-themed indexes on the market, but each uses different criteria and methodologies. Make sure you’re using the appropriate index for benchmarking. In the latest research piece from NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes, we look at how component selection plays a role in dividend growth.

To read more about how the NASDAQ U.S. Broad Dividend Achievers (DAA), NASDAQ U.S. Dividend Achievers Select (DVG), and NASDAQ U.S. Dividend Achievers 50 (DAY) indexes perform compared to competitors and the broad market, DOWNLOAD our latest reseach piece.

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