Feature
MSCI expands Islamic indexes
Index provider MSCI Barra has extended its Islamic indexes family by expanding its Emerging Markets coverage to include Small Cap components and launching a further 16 frontier market country indexes.
Dow Jones launches Islamic Asean index
Dow Jones Indexes has launched the Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Asean Index, which is designed to provide exposure to sharia-compliant companies in six of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) including Indonesia,…
NDFA launches latest Growth Kick Out plan
NDFA has released its Growth Kick Out Plan November 08, the 20 th in its series of autocallable products. The six-year plan is linked to the FTSE 100 index, which does not need to rise from its starting level to gain 13% annual growth and a potential 78%…
Final funds hit Germany ahead of tax change implementation
HypoVereinsbank (HVB) has launched its latest Rolling Protect structured fund as the kick-in date approaches to change tax laws in Germany. The Abgeltungssteuer will become effective as of January 2009, placing funds and certificates on an equal footing…
New ETF exposes investors to large-cap television index
Northern Trust has listed a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Arca platform of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE.) The Nets (Northern Exchange traded shares) fund will track the performance of the FTSE CNBC Global 300 Index, which includes 300 stocks…
Investec unveils fifth series of structured products
Investec Structured Products has released its fifth series, including the latest issue of its accumulation, investment and income plans. The five-year FTSE 100 and RPI Combination Plan 4 offers annual payments equivalent to 7.5% of the initial investment…
Société Générale unveils range of 51 covered warrants
Société Générale has issued 51 covered warrants based on the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 as well as commodities. The range of covered warrants includes 26 focussing on the FTSE 100 and 250 indexes, offering both put and call options with a choice of four maturity…
Op risk management at a crossroads
Editor's blog
BNP launches carry trade alternative
BNP Paribas has launched two new FX indexes, Galaxy Alpha and Alpha plus, which aim to offer an alternative to traditional carry trade strategies, which have underperformed over the past year given extreme volatility in FX and interest rate markets.
MAS review of structured products may lead to regulatory changes
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) may make changes to regulation governing the structured products industry it emerged yesterday during the country's parliamentary sitting. The MAS is undertaking a review of the regulatory regime for the…
Courts call for Lehman derivative contract settlement in US
Investors still holding Lehman Brothers derivative contracts have been called to terminate their positions by US bankruptcy courts. The bank was estimated to have entered into 930,000 contracts including swaps, options and forwards, of which 733,000 have…
Nasdaq OMX offers Nordic sustainability
Index provider Nasdaq OMX has launched the OMX GES Sustainability Index, a benchmark index which comprises the 50 leading Nordic-listed sustainability companies. The index criteria are based on international guidelines for environmental, social and…
CAAM opens subsidiary in Malaysia
Crédit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM) has opened a subsidiary in Malaysia, which was established as a foreign fund management company. CAAM Malaysia holds a Capital Markets and Services License allowing it to carry out fund management in the country.
FTSE expands environmental index series
Index provider FTSE has expanded its Environmental Opportunities Index Series by launching nine new indexes. The series, which was launched in July 2008, is derived from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series and comprises companies with at least 20% of…
Db x-trackers delivers commodity ETF
Db x-trackers, the exchange-traded fund arm of Deutsche Bank, has launched its commodity ETF on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) tracking the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield (DBLCI OY Balanced). The db x-trackers DBLCI OY Balanced ETF…
Hedge funds agree more transparency is needed
Editor's blog
Mifid implementation "better than expected"
Daily news headlines
Brazilian equity reverse convertible coupons soar
Annualised coupons offered on three-month reverse convertibles linked to Brazilian blue-chip stocks have soared over the past few months because of the extreme equity volatility environment. A reverse convertible priced in January last year on Vale do…
Singapore investors set to lose all in Pinnacle Notes
Investors in Singapore who bought Pinnacle Performance Notes Series 9 and 10, structured products arranged by Morgan Stanley, are set to lose their entire investment after a mandatory redemption event occurred. The total issue size of the Pinnacle Notes…
HK SFC tones down structured products approvals
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has postponed the approval of structured retail note documentation but issuers who possess active equity-linked investment programmes (ELIs) are still able to issue products according to various…
Collateral damage prevented with new JP Morgan fund
JP Morgan has launched a new Ucits III compliant fund which offers investors UK equity exposure. Ucits III compliance rules require a fund's assets to be collateralised, which protects investors against credit risk posed by the insolvency of the…
HVB launches bonus fund ahead of German tax changes
HVB has launched its fourth bonus fund in Germany, in the climate of increasingly favourable tax conditions for the investments. The fund is designed to offer the payout structure of a certificate, while also protecting investors from the associated…
Citic Pacific parent company assumes currency losses
Mining and manufacturing company Citic Pacific in Hong Kong has reached an agreement with parent company, Citic Group, to provide critical financial support to meet liabilities from the exposure to leveraged FX contracts disclosed on October 20. (…
Minibond swap agreements terminated in Singapore
HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore), the trustee for the Lehman Minibond programme, has terminated the swaps in the product for series 1 to 8 of the programme, which removes the risk of credit events in the underlying securities and helps to…