Dividend-focused investing is popular these days, as investors look for sources other than traditional bond ETFs for income. One of today’s launches sets out to simplify—as well as diversify—the search for the best dividend ETF with one single ticker.
The Amplify YieldShares Prime 5 Dividend ETF (PFV) is essentially a fund of funds. This ETF owns the top five U.S. dividend ETFs selected based on three criteria: low expense ratio, low share price volatility and high dividend income, according to Amplify, a firm led by industry veteran Christian Magoon…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Barclays is inviting Cambridge and East of England companies to pitch into a new £100 million UK agricultural funding initiative. The bank is making that amount available in loans to boost the sector, to help future-proof the industry for the next generation, improve efficiency and create additional revenue streams to limit effects of market volatility.
The fund is available to farmers looking to modernise their infrastructure, helping to streamline their farming processes and increase efficiency………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With an aim to deepen commodity derivatives market, regulator Sebi is working on new products that can have good liquidity while weeding out some existing contracts with limited or no appeal among investors and only being used for purely-speculative activities.
However, any new product on agriculture commodities is unlikely for now amid concerns that any such move may be seen as worsening the prevailing price-rise situation because of commodities trading being largely seen as speculative in nature, a senior official said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The team working on Ghana’s commodities exchange, the first in West Africa, is confident trading on the exchange will commence in the first quarter of 2017 - starting with Maize, Rice and Soy-beans. Launched by President John Mahama a year ago, the Ghana Commodities Exchange (GCX) will serve as a common platform for trading local commodities in a transparent and uniform manner with a view to giving farmers a ready market and improving livelihoods.
With institutions like Wienco and the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) in the fray, Project Coordinator Robert Dowuona Amoo is confident trading will see a soft launch this October or November, with full-scale operation and trading taking off in the first quarter of 2017………………………………………..Full Article: Source

New derivative products in the commodity markets are likely to be launched by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in the coming months. Three sub-working groups of the market regulator are looking at various issues relating to commodity derivatives – polling of prices, option limit and eligibility criteria for commodities to qualify for future trading. The groups are expected to submit their reports shortly.
“Once they submit their report, we will hold a meeting and look at possible options,” said NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, who also heads SEBI’s Commodity Market Advisory Committee and is currrently working on the issue………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indian Overseas Bank kicked off sale of Indian gold coins on Friday in its branches in Mumbai on the occasion of Gudi Padwa. The RBI had given the nod to banks in January to sell these coins. These coins, minted in India, will have the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other and will join the global basket of national coins, including the American eagle coins (of the US), Panda coins (of China) and Maple Leaf coins (of Canada).
With a third of the gold demand in India (200-250 tonnes a year) coming from investors who buy coins/bars of gold, this new coin should see strong demand………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday said the country would establish a A$1 billion (535.7 million pounds) clean-energy innovation fund, in a major departure from his predecessor’s much maligned approach to combating climate change.
Conservative former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised by environmental groups for lagging behind other advanced economies when he announced cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Intercontinental Exchange will launch its Singapore platform on Nov. 17, with five new contracts, the bourse said on Wednesday. The contracts are one-kilogramme gold futures and “mini-Brent” futures that ICE announced earlier as well as mini gasoil and mini onshore and offshore renminbi futures. ICE’s mini-Brent contract will be for 100 barrels each, a tenth of the size of its Brent crude oil benchmark.
Atlanta-based ICE earlier planned to launch its Singapore platform in March. But China’s Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange complained against the use of its settlement prices as references for the cotton and white sugar futures contracts that ICE was initially looking to launch………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Intercontinental Exchange will launch its Singapore platform on Nov. 17, with five new contracts, the bourse said on Wednesday. The contracts are one-kilogramme gold futures and “mini-Brent” futures that ICE announced earlier as well as mini gasoil and mini onshore and offshore renminbi futures. ICE’s mini-Brent contract will be for 100 barrels each, a tenth of the size of its Brent crude oil benchmark.
Atlanta-based ICE earlier planned to launch its Singapore platform in March. But China’s Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange complained against the use of its settlement prices as references for the cotton and white sugar futures contracts that ICE was initially looking to launch………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Wells Fargo & Co.’s wealth management division is soliciting investor money for a new commodities hedge fund just as oil hovers near a six-year low and other commodities prices slide to their worst levels since 2002.
The Apollo Natural Resources II ASP Fund has already raised about $7 million and is looking for wealthy individuals who can afford the minimum $100,000 entry investment, according to a July 16 securities filing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Availability of reliable agricultural produce market continues to be a headache for farmers which in return hinder agro productivity in the country. The market challenges are believed to make the country’s agricultural produce curve to be in a ‘S’ shape as in business circle — increasing this year and plummet in the next due to lack of reliable markets.
On the other hand farmers are not getting back value of their investments because during harvests price plummet and rises when production goes down after surplus. Since the country heavily depends on agricultural sector which has significant contribution to the gross domestic product (gdp) and employment, the up and down circles on agro-sector back pedal the effort to bring or uplift social welfare in Tanzania………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Intercontinental Exchange, the network of exchanges and clearing houses, has announced that ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) expects to launch the new LBMA Gold Price, which replaces the long established London Gold Fix, on 20 March 2015.
Finbarr Hutcheson, president, ICE Benchmark Administration said: “Under the administration of IBA, the new LBMA Gold Price will benefit from increased transparency, and the robustness of the data used to calculate the benchmark will give a better representation of the market price. We would like to thank the London Bullion Market Association and the precious metals industry for their work and support in the transition of this globally important benchmark.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Boardage Capital Management, LLC, announced the launch of its strategy focused on basic materials, mining and metals. Dallas-based Boardage seeded the investment approach with internal capital in October 2013. As part of the firm’s growth, Boardage also announced the addition of Collin Schuhmacher to the team as Partner. Schuhmacher will be responsible for heading Boardage’s business development, operations and compliance as Chief Operating Officer.
Founder Kevin Nicholson employs a top-down approach to identifying opportunities and investment themes within the basic materials sector. Bottom-up fundamental research subsequently identifies equities most impacted by these themes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Carl Whelahan, a former partner at $200 million commodities hedge fund firm Round Earth Capital, is starting his own fund, according to a person familiar with his plans.
Whelahan expects to raise $100 million to $200 million for his New York-based Seleritas Investment Management, which is scheduled to start in the third quarter, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the firm is private………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Estlander & Partners has announced the launch of a new systematic fund focused exclusively on the commodities sector. The E&P Commodity fund began trading on 24th November 2014 with assets approaching $30m with backing from a large Nordic institution. The fund vehicle is only available for professional investors in specific jurisdictions within the approved regulatory framework. The strategy will also be made available as managed accounts to institutional and high net-worth investors.
The 100% systematic investment strategy is based on two years’ detailed research by the E&P team based in two of Finland’s leading university cities. The new strategy also benefits from the incorporation of the trend-based systematic approach to trading underlying E&P’s core investment strategies: Alpha Trend and Freedom………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bombay Stock Exchange, one of the leading exchanges, has received capital market regulator Sebi-approval to launch its commodity exchange. The stock exchange has to now apply with the commodity market regulator, Forward Markets Commission, for its permission.
Last October, the board of directors of BSE approved a proposal for foray into the commodity exchange business and papers were filed with Sebi. Once launched, BSE would be the seventh company to enter the commodity space dominated by MCX and NCDEX. At present, there are four commodity exchanges including National Multi Commodity Exchange and Kotak Group-owned ACE Commodity and Derivatives Exchange besides six regional exchanges………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Riding on increased investment interest in commodities, Societe Generale has launched a new commodity index that changes its mix of products monthly based on seasonal factors. The Societe Generale Seasonal Factor Commodity Index, which the bank started introducing to clients a month ago, has been very well received, the bank said.
“Seasonality is one of the most powerful drivers of commodity returns,” said Mark Keenan, head of commodities research in Asia at Societe Generale. These can range from weather seasons which can increase demand for energy, to the start of Indian festivals that boost demand for gold………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China will launch its first carbon-linked financial product on Thursday, a debt note linked to the performance of carbon offsets on the Shenzhen Emissions Exchange, issued by a unit of China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN).
The launch will be a first test of financial market confidence in China’s emerging emissions markets, as trading houses generally consider outright trade in carbon permits unattractive, since it is limited to spot deals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Thanks to the market’s surge over the past twelve months, many retail investors have begun to once again look at market gurus and their portfolios in order to find the next slate of outperforming stocks. While tracking 13-F filings from hedge funds (which reveal their positions) is one way an individual investor can tap into the ideas of investing gurus, an ETF approach that does the work for you is another way to go.
This technique has been successfully developed by the Global X Guru Index ETF which has not only crushed the market, but it has attracted a decent sized following as well. In fact, total AUM for the fund is approaching $600 million, while it has added over 28% in the past twelve months compared to a roughly 20% gain for the S&P 500 in the same time frame……………………………………….Full Article: Source

It turns out that not one but two palladium exchange-traded funds will be launched in South Africa next week.
The corporate and investment banking division of Absa Bank Ltd., member of Barclays , Thursday said it will list its palladium-backed ETF, NewPalladium, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on March 27………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Zimbabwe government will soon set up a special market for agricultural products as it moves to address the marketing and pricing of crops, says Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made.
The government was seized with the marketing side of agriculture at a time the country was expecting a bumper harvest, he said here Tuesday, adding that the government was working to establish commodity markets for horticulture and cotton as well as strengthening irrigation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

South Africa’s Absa Capital has received regulatory approval for its planned Johannesburg-listed palladium exchange-traded fund and hopes to launch the product by the end of the year, a spokesman for Absa said.
The fund will be backed exclusively by palladium sourced in South Africa, Absa’s head of investments Vladimir Nedeljkovic said on Sunday on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association’s annual conference. “We have regulatory approval, and we’re now basically just finalising a couple of small things,” Nedeljkovic said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ossiam, a provider of smart beta exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management, has listed the world’s first risk-weighted commodity ETF, the Ossiam Risk Weighted Enhanced Commodity ex. Grains TR UCITS ETF (CRWU).
The fund is fully UCITS compliant and provides investors with systematic long-only exposure to a diversified basket of 20 commodities futures contracts (excluding grains) with reduced volatility. It has been listed on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, NYSE Euronext Paris and Xetra………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An ex-Glencore oil trader and a veteran grains merchant with futures broker R.J. O’Brien are among those behind the largest number of commodity fund launches in 3 years despite investor worries the multi-year rally in those markets is over.
A dozen hedge funds trading raw materials derivatives on discretion were launched in the first six months of this year, the same as in the whole of 2012, data from London-based research house Preqin showed. In 2011, only seven of such funds took off, the smallest number in 5 years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore Precious Metals Exchange (SGPMX), the world’s first physical precious metals exchange with peer-to-peer bullion trading capabilities integrated into the trading platform, launched in Singapore today, amid Singapore’s drive to encourage gold trading in the country. As part of the launch, SGPMX also announces the entry into an MOU with Certis CISCO which will act as the custodian for bullion storage.
Certis CISCO has been providing secure and trusted storage of precious metals for renowned banks and international couriers since 1986. Storage with Certis CISCO will enable SGPMX to provide the platform for private individuals, traders and institutions to buy, sell, store and exchange precious metals including gold and silver bullion, without incurring high spread margins. (Press Release)

UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s biggest bank, started storing gold for wealth-management clients at a facility in Singapore, citing interest from investors in the region even after the metal slumped into a bear market.
The leased vault in the Singapore FreePort is available for clients in the city-state and Hong Kong, according to Peter Kok, regional market manager for wealth management in Singapore and Malaysia. While bullion is heading for the first annual drop in 13 years, client interest persists, Kok said……………………………….Full Article: Source

State Street seeks to issue nontransparent, actively managed ETFs, and AdvisorShares to liquidate an actively managed, sector rotation ETF. On Wednesday, June 12, Credit Suisse launched a pair of exchange-traded notes devoted to offering investors long-only exposure to commodities.
Credit Suisse Commodity Benchmark ETN (CSCB) tracks a Credit Suisse-managed index containing futures contracts for 34 different physical commodities. The ETN is aimed at providing broad diversification. Its index tracks commodity futures contracts that expire between one and three months. CSCB charges 0.65%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

OTC Global Holdings LP (OTCGH), the leading independent interdealer broker in commodities markets, formally announced today that its subsidiary, EOX Exchange LLC, filed its application with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for designation as a contract market (DCM).
A wide range of derivative products will be offered on the EOX Exchange, including futures and options in natural gas, crude oil and refined products, natural gas liquids, power and agricultural products………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A Bangladeshi firm has joined hands with a UAE-based company to float the country’s first ever formal commodity exchange trading facility expecting to increase efficiency and transparency in market chains, according to reports.
The consortium of investors - Bangladesh’s Deshbandhu Group and UAE’s Pride Group - would launch the Bangla Mercantile Commodity Exchange or BMEx with the Dubai-based company having adequate state-of-the-art technology to run the facilities around the globe, The Financial Express newspaper reported………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The securities regulator of Bangladesh is planning to formulate norms in introducing commodities exchange as part of its efforts to provide a platform for producers to discover fair prices and hedge risks of their products. The platform would be mainly for agriculture produces as well as manufacturing products to be initiated with Jute, sugar and gold. Futures contracts among the traders would be set up on the platform.
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) initiated the move following an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Ordinance 1969 in November last year, allowing establishment of a ‘commodity exchange’ in the country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Cantab Capital Partners LLP, the $5.5 billion hedge-fund firm led by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) quantitative traders, will shut a pool that is regulated like mutual funds because of restrictions on commodity investments.
Investors in the CCP Quantitative UCITS fund, which has more than $320 million in assets under management, will be given the option of redeeming their money or moving to the firm’s hedge funds, Cambridge, England-based Cantab said in a statement today. The UCITS fund will be closed at the end of June………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CF Partners, active in the commodities market since 2006, has launched a long/short equity hedge fund after hiring Alvaro Ventosa from Spanish fund manager Cygnus Asset Management. Commodity trader CF Partners has launched a long/short equity fund that will trade the utilities, oil and infrastructure sectors.
CFP Equity Fund is CF Partners’ first hedge fund. It started trading in December 2012 with $29 million of internal money and it is now open to external investors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity exchange market is expected to start operations in Tanzania in June, next year, officials told the ‘Daily News’ in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
The Capital Market and Securities Authority (CMSA) Chief Executive Officer, Ms Nasama Massinda, said that a special committee headed by the Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office has been set up to fast-track the matter. “The committee will monitor the roadmap for the creation of the commodity market and speed up the process,” Ms Massinda said………………………………….Full Article: Source

India’s sixth nationwide commodity futures trading platform, Universal Comm-odity Exchange (UCX), is set to go live in April this year with at least 10 agri and non-agri commodities in its kitty. The exchange has enrolled a little 200 members for trading on its platform, which is awaiting the issuance of a unique trading code by the regulator, Forward Markets Comm-ission (FMC).
“We are in the process of getting a unique trading code for each of our registered members. Once that process gets completed, we would be ready for launch,” said Ketan Sheth, managing director of Commex Technologies, the promoter of UCX………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. (Horizons ETFs) and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc. (AlphaPro) are pleased to announce the launch of the Horizons Auspice Broad Commodity Index ETF (HBR), an innovative alternative strategy ETF that offers investors diversified, tactical long exposure to up to 12 different commodity futures in the energy, metals and agricultural sectors.
HBR is designed to track, before fees and expenses, the Auspice Broad Commodity Excess Return Index (the Auspice Index), hedged to the Canadian dollar. The Auspice Index is a commodity futures based index developed by Calgary-based Auspice Capital Advisors Ltd. (Auspice). Auspice is a leader in the design and execution of systematic commodity trading strategies in Canada, and a seasoned manager of commodity risk.(Press Release)

Threadneedle Investments has launched the Columbia Threadneedle SICAV-SIF Absolute Commodities Fund, which aims to deliver a 10-15% return on an annualised basis, net of fees, over a long term investment horizon.
The non-Ucits fund is being launched in response to client appetite for an actively managed absolute return product, the firm said. Columbia is the US-based fellow asset management subsidiary of Ameriprise………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new stock exchange in India opens for trading on Monday, pitching the country’s main commodity bourse into a three-way battle with the two established incumbents as they look to attract investors around the world. The new venue, MCX-SX, will trade more than 1,100 equities, develop derivatives like futures and options and launch its own index of leading shares, the SX-40.
It was formally unveiled at an event attended by Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram in Mumbai on Saturday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Leading interdealer brokers in the European energy markets, ICAP, Marex Spectron, and Tullett Prebon, today launch ‘Tankard,’ a series of trade-backed natural gas indices for UK and European hubs. The Tankard indices will initially cover the four leading traded natural gas hubs in Europe – the UK National Balancing Point ( NBP), Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), German NetConnect Germany (NCG) and GASPOOL.
Each Tankard index is calculated exclusively using transaction prices for contracts for physical delivery at their respective hub, executed via one of the three brokers that comprise Tankard. ICAP, Marex Spectron, and Tullett Prebon provide comprehensive coverage of the OTC natural gas market……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Capital Markets Authority has hired a consultant to guide the formation of a futures exchange market in Kenya. CMA acting chief executive Paul Muthaura said the Pakistan national, with vast experience in futures trading, started work this week.
The consultant has a one-year period to have developed all the necessary requirements for the establishment of a futures market. “This is a very significant step for us,” said Muthaura on the sidelines of a financial literacy forum in Nairobi………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity funds have mostly been a graveyard for investment returns since 2009, yet London-based asset manager IKEN Capital’s new fund has bucked the trend in its first six months.
Using a combination of algorithmic and relative value strategies while hedging out macroeconomic risk, the Commodity Alpha Fund is up over 7 percent since its “soft” launch in June 2012, having navigated tricky third and fourth quarters in which many commodity funds were hard hit………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Lyxor Asset Management has announced the launch of the Lyxor ETF MSCI ACWI Gold (GLDM), a new exchange-traded fund offering access to a global portfolio of gold mining and gold-related stocks. The ETF has been listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris and comes with a management fee of 0.50%.
The fund, which is based on a variation of the MSCI ACWI Gold Index, enables investors to gain exposure to the gold theme via mining companies whose fortunes are strongly tied to the price of the precious metal………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Tony Hall has set up Hall Commodities LLP with former colleague Arno Pilz five months after the pair left hedge fund Duet Commodities Fund Ltd.
Hall Commodities, based in London’s West End, the center of the capital’s hedge-fund industry, was incorporated on Dec. 10, according to filings with the U.K. Companies House. Hall and Pilz resigned from Duet in July. The fund started in July 2010, gaining 26 percent in 2011 before losing money in 2012, including nine of the 10 months to June………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Global index company FTSE Group has launched a rules-based, long-short index, the FTSE Dynamic Commodity Index. Announcing the launch of the new product this week, the company said it was derived from Professor John M. Mulvey’s risk management and portfolio allocation approach – Dynamic Portfolio Tactics.
It said the new index would provide investors with transparent and efficient exposure to global commodity markets, via a proprietary regime-shifting approach, which seeks to capture discrete changes in economic data to guide positive or negative commodity weightings………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Jakarta Futures Exchange (JFX) will launch coal, natural rubber and coffee bean contracts in the first quarter of next year, an exchange director said on Thursday, with the aim of tapping into a surge in interest from new commodity investors.
One year ago, the JFX said it would launch a coal and coffee futures, but strict government rules blocked the plans. “We plan to launch three commodity future contracts - coal, natural rubber and coffee - in the first quarter of next year,” JFX director Bihar Sakti Wibowo said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The world’s first glass futures landed in Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange on Dec.3. The benchmark price of the first glass futures was 1420 yuan per ton. The contract prices tumbled as soon as the market opened, with the price of major contract 1305 falling 7.18 percent to 1319 yuan per ton.
The trading volume of all contract types varying in nine months totaled 720 thousand hands, among which the trading volume of major contract 1305 was nearly 700 thousand hands, accounting for 97 percent. The positions held were nearly 80 hands. All these mark an unusual trading condition of a new type of futures in the domestic market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Paul Crone, the former head trader at Touradji Capital Management LP who left the firm in March after seven years, has started a metals hedge fund in New York, according to Citrine Capital Management LLC, his new company.
Citrine, located on the 34th floor of the Chrysler Building, has a team of three led by Crone, who’s chief investment officer, according to a statement. The fund will trade listed derivatives in base metals, gold and platinum-group metals, Crone said in an e-mail interview, declining to specify how much money the fund has raised nor its target size………………………………………..Full Article: Source

India’s sixth national commodity bourse is planning to launch operations by the end of this year, its founder said Monday. Universal Commodity Exchange Ltd. officials will meet soon to finalize the launch date, Ketan Sheth said. The bourse recently obtained approval from the consumer affairs ministry, which oversees commodity futures trade, Mr. Sheth said.
A proposal to amend the law governing commodity derivatives markets will likely be introduced in Parliament soon in a move that will increase market liquidity by allowing options trading while also providing for financial institutions to participate in the market. This is stimulating interest among private investors to launch new bourses……………………………………..Full Article: Source

India’s sixth nationwide commodity futures trading platform — Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX) — is set to go live soon as the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has sent its favourable recommendations to its parent ministry, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA).
The other five commodity futures platforms that are currently in existence are: The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE), Ace Derivatives and Commodity Exchange (ACE) and Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

United States Commodity Funds, the firm behind the $1.25 billion U.S. Oil Fund, filed paperwork with U.S. regulators to market its first currency fund, this one a futures-based currency ETF that would serve up exposure to a basket of five currencies at a time.
The U.S. Golden Currency Fund is a commodity pool comprised of futures contracts that represent equally weighted interest in five hard currencies that are widely used, easily exchangeable and issued by an economically strong country, the company said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has launched an index for clients to track Chinese commodities demand, which it said was a better gauge of global commodity markets than other indices that were too focused on Western markets.
The ANZ index tracks Chinese domestic prices of 22 commodities, including iron ore, coal and rice, which are not included in other international commodities indices, and is weighted on consumption rather than production………………………………Full Article: Source