Reports and investment research on ETFs and other fund vehicles, including mutual funds, UCITs and white papers on liquid alternatives. Research on liquid alts has received a lot of attention, as institutional investors and FOHFs show increasing interest in the many different types of liquid alternative mutual funds. For hedge funds, alternative UCITs provide another opportunity to expand their investor universe. Research on future trends in UCITs has been popular, as have papers on the use of sub-advisers for liquid alternatives. The most popular ETF research includes papers on smart beta ETFs, best practices for ETF trading, Asian ETFs and bond ETFs. Different ETF articles will appeal to different members. For asset allocators seeking to make short-term allocations to an asset class, research providing a cost comparison of futures and ETFs has received many downloads. For DC Plan Sponsors, the question "should ETFs be an investment option in DC plans?" has generated a lot of interest, whereas for Canadian plan sponsors a paper questioning the use of mutual funds in Canadian pensions has proved popular.
The latest Investment Company Fact Book is out! This 298-page publication by ICI is an important contribution to our understanding of the make-up of the U.S. investment industry. It includes detailed stats on ETFs, closed-end funds, mutual funds, and more.
Investors are increasingly turning to indexed ETFs to pursue active objectives. Institutions are using ETFs to construct portfolios, fine-tune risk and improve operational tasks like cash management and portfolio transitions. Learn more in BlackRock’s ETF Desk Reference.
Topics include:
Trends in institutional ETF adoption across asset ...
Smart beta, which has its roots in factor investing, is enjoying growing popularity. But investors often struggle with how best to implement these strategies. We aim to provide a clearer picture of what factor-based investing actually is and suggest three ways in which investors can implement quantitative strategies. Read also:
This 31-page paper appears in CFA Institute's Financial Analysts Journal. It examines the topic of ETF pricing inefficiencies. Despite the arbitrage mechanism that allows authorized participants to create and redeem shares for the underlying portfolios, ETF prices can deviate significantly from the net asset values. Typically, the deviations are larger in funds holding ...
EDHEC-Risk Institute conducted its 9th survey of European investment professionals about the usage and perceptions of ETFs at the end of 2015. The aim of this study was to analyse the usage of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in investment management and to give a detailed account of the current perceptions and practices of European investors in ETFs. Responses were provided by 219 ...
SPIVA® (S&P Indices Versus Active) is extending its coverage beyond retail mutual funds to institutional managed accounts and examining the impact of fees on performance. This report addresses three questions that are pertinent to the active versus passive debate:
Do institutional asset managers deliver relative outperformance over their respective ...
Trading bonds is becoming increasingly costly and time-consuming. Bond ETFs are emerging as an integral portfolio management tool for institutional fixed income investors seeking liquidity. Learn more in BlackRock’s ETF Desk Reference. Topics include: - Trends in institutional ETF adoption across asset classes - Applications for Bond ETFs and more - Exclusive analytical tools ...
Adopting a factor lens can help investors better understand the risks in their portfolios. Managing factor exposures can potentially improve returns, reduce risk and lower overall portfolio expenses.
The GSAM MAPS is designed to help investors better understand and allocate to liquid alternatives, or alternative mutual funds. In this analysis, we narrow down the vast universe of liquid alternatives to the funds that may better provide the differentiated return and risk characteristics of hedge funds. We then categorize those ...
China’s share classes represent the arc of the country’s transformation from a dormant agrarian society to bustling centre of global commerce. Each new share class has marked both an increased openness and often a new phase in China’s economic development. Read FTSE Russell’s latest research to gain deeper insights about the Chinese equity market.
Over two decades, ETFs have become one of the most popular investment vehicle among retail and professional investors due to their low transaction costs and high liquidity, taking market share from traditional investment vehicles such as mutual funds and index futures. Research has shown that in addition to the benefits of enhanced price discovery, ETFs add noise to the market: ...
With £5.7 trillion under management by Investment Association members, and a wider asset base of around £6.9 trillion, the UK continues to thrive as a centre of excellence. It is the largest asset management centre in Europe by a significant margin and second in the world after the United States. This paper provides some important insights into the state and outlook of ...
The authors of this guide provide insights into the state of the global landscape for strategic-beta ETPs. They expect this space to grow faster than the wider ETP market, as well as the asset-management industry as a whole. Growth has been supported by new cash flows, launches and industry players.
This paper explores liquid alternative strategies and how to implement them in portfolios whilst facing a complex set of challenges such as return and fees profiles and risk.
Canadians manage their savings primarily through mutual funds and pension plans, each of which hold over $1 trillion in assets (2014 figure). Policymakers have promoted RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans) for the last 20 years as the best option, with much of those personal savings being invested in mutual funds. In this paper, the high fees paid by mutual fund based ...
This paper by the Investment Company Institute provides an overview of the closed-end fund market in 2016. Total closed-end fund assets were $262 billion at year-end 2016. This amount is little changed from year-end 2015, as losses from falling municipal bond prices were offset by rising domestic stock prices.
Opinions in the active-passive investment debate have drifted poles apart over recent years. In this paper, the authors revisit this discussion by contrasting equity and fixed income markets in the United States. They look at performance numbers and find that, unlike their stock counterparts, active bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have largely outperformed their ...
This report by Morningstar examines the European ETF landscape. It covers aspects such as asset growth and product proliferation. It examines the ongoing impact of regulation and the disruptive role that "robo advisors" are playing in advancing the case for investing in ETFs within retail investment channels.
This 298-page publication by ICI is an important contribution to our understanding of the make-up of the U.S. investment industry. It includes detailed stats on ETFs, closed-end funds, mutual funds, and more.
This paper by Oliver Wyman examines some of the implications of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new liquidity rule. The rule is expected to provide the SEC and investors with additional tools and information to monitor the ability of an open-end mutual fund or ETF to meet redemption requests without significantly diluting remaining shareholders.
