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Braced for Brexit

The Sun is Shining, Even on Fixed Income Indices in Mexico

Rieger Report: U.S. Bond Safety Valve for Brexit Hangover

Inside the S&P 500: The Real Estate Sector

Pan Asia: Leveraged and Inverse ETFs Have Increased in Turnover

Braced for Brexit

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Fei Mei Chan

Former Director, Core Product Management

S&P Dow Jones Indices

To say that global financial markets were surprised by results of the June 23rd Brexit referendum would be an understatement. Most market observers had anticipated a victory for Remain. When the Leave camp won, global financial markets reeled from the shock.

Low volatility strategies are designed to attenuate returns in either direction, and as such, mitigate the effects of days like June 24 and 27. The S&P 500 Low Volatility Index, for example, declined only 1.8% after last Friday and Monday’s tumultuous trading, a 3.5% outperformance compared to the broader S&P 500’s decline of 5.3%. Year-to-date, it is up 7.5% versus S&P 500’s -1.1% return. As the chart below shows, bracing also proved to be prudent across the U.S. market capitalization spectrum and outside the U.S. as well.

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The posts on this blog are opinions, not advice. Please read our Disclaimers.

The Sun is Shining, Even on Fixed Income Indices in Mexico

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Jaime Merino

Former Director, Asset Owners Channel

S&P Dow Jones Indices

When analyzing Mexican fixed income indices during the summer (June 20 to September 20), we have seen trends over the past 15 years. We know that through the years, economic and momentum factors are not the same, and what happened in Mexico last year can’t be compared with what happened 10 years ago.  Instead, let’s focus on how the annualized returns of some fixed income indices have behaved historically during this period of the year.

Exhibit 1 shows the indices analyzed and their reference numbers, and Exhibit 2 shows the results.

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Historically, we can see that the probability of generating a positive return has been high, with 7 out of 10 indices showing positive returns during the summer 100% of the time.  The S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign International UMS Index had the lowest percent of positive returns, at 75%, and the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign 10 Year MBONOS Index and the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign MBONOS Index had negative returns for their first and first two years, respectively.

There are high return expectations for most of the indices.  During the period of June 20 to September 20 from 2001 to 2015, the lowest average return was for the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign 7+ CETES Index, at 6.05%, and the highest average return was for the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign International UMS Index, at 17.23%.  Over the same 15-year period, the sovereign curve, as measured by the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign MBONOS Index, had an average return of 9.71%, a maximum return of 28.53%, and a minimum return of -8.26%.  The sovereign real rate, as measured by the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign Inflation-Linked UDIBONOS Index, had an average return of 13.23%, and the S&P/Valmer Mexico Corporate Index had an average return of 8.66%.  Measuring maximums and minimums, the index with the most dispersion was the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign International UMS Index, with a maximum return of 61.23% and a minimum return of -18.74%, followed by the S&P/Valmer Mexico Sovereign 10 Year MBONOS Index, with a maximum return of 35.55% and a minimum return of -27.62%.

We know that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, but it can give us a view on how some indices might move.  Stay tuned for the next season report.

The posts on this blog are opinions, not advice. Please read our Disclaimers.

Rieger Report: U.S. Bond Safety Valve for Brexit Hangover

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J.R. Rieger

Former Head of Fixed Income Indices

S&P Dow Jones Indices

Thursday’s Brexit vote and subsequent market reactions have helped push U.S. bonds higher as investors continue to seek shelter from volatility and the uncertainty of what the future holds for the global economy.

While the S&P 500 Index has seen a decline of over 2.7% in June, the 10 year U.S. Treasury Bond has returned over 2.5% for the month so far as the “risk off” mindset helps push yields lower and bond prices higher.

In the credit markets, U.S. municipal bonds tracked in the  S&P Municipal Bond Index have returned over 1.5% in June as the diversity, yield, historical stability and quality of the municipal bond market has made it a “risk off” destination asset class.  The corporate bonds of the companies in the S&P 500 have also seen positive returns with the S&P 500 Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index returning over 1.25% for June so far.

Table 1: Select indices and their returns through June 24, 2016:

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC. Data as of June 24, 2016. Table is provided for illustrative purposes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC. Data as of June 24, 2016. Table is provided for illustrative purposes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

As a result of the Brexit vote, the financial sector to a beating.  However, the bonds of the financial companies in the U.S. have stayed in positive territory with the S&P 500 Financials Corporate Bond Index returning just under 1% through June while the equity market sector tracked in the S&P 500 Financials (TR) has seen extreme volatility to the down side of more than 6.5%.

Table 2: Select financial sector indices and their returns through June 24, 2016:

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC. Data as of June 24, 2016. Table is provided for illustrative purposes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC. Data as of June 24, 2016. Table is provided for illustrative purposes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

The posts on this blog are opinions, not advice. Please read our Disclaimers.

Inside the S&P 500: The Real Estate Sector

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David Blitzer

Former Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee

S&P Dow Jones Indices

Part of the power of the S&P 500 is analyzing the market and gaining insights into which stocks rising or falling.  The key to these analyses is GICS – the Global Industry Classification Standard – which is used to define the sectors and industries in the index. GICS is jointly maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI.  The classifications are used across the S&P indices so that analysts have a consistent picture whether they look at large cap versus small cap or foreign versus domestic.

GICS goes back to 1999 and divides the world of equities into 10 sectors, 24 industry groups, 68 industries and 157 sub-industries. Because lots has changed since 1999, GICS is reviewed each year to assure that it remains relevant. Among those changes is the increasing interest in investing in real estate through equities and the growing popularity of real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs are taxed differently from most corporations and are required to distribute a large portion of their income. REITs are seen as attractive income oriented dividend paying investments.

When GICS was introduced in 1999, REITs were considered alternative investments and rarely found in mainstream indices. The initial recognition step came in 2001 when S&P Dow Jones Indices, after a market consultation, decided that REITs would be eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500.  At that time REITs and other real estate development companies were grouped together with the financials under GICS. Periodically investors would suggest that real estate or REITs were lost amidst the banks and brokers and should stand on their own. Over the last few years, as S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI reviewed GICS, we heard more and more about real estate and REITs. (The chart shows the increasing real estate share in the S&P 500’s market value compared to financials excluding real estate.) Based on comments from investors, the real estate industry and others, S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI announced in March 2015 that real estate would leave the financial sector and become its own 11th sector in GICS.  The move for GICS is at the end of August, the shift in S&P Dow Jones Indices will be the rebalance on September 16th.

This is not just rearranging the place cards on the table. The GICS sectors are widely used to gauge how asset allocations align with markets. With real estate added to the top line of sectors, investors will notice where real estate is and whether they are over or under weighted. Analyses of market movements and fundamentals will focus on real estate the same way they focus on industrials or technology. With real estate removed from the financials, the reported dividend yield for financials will drop a bit as real estate moves to be among the higher yielding sector in the 11, along with telecommunication services and utilities.

With the change to GICS, real estate and REITs will garner more discussion and ink. Already analysts, ETF issuers and the media are paying increasing attention to the new sector-to-be.  Those who thought the financial crisis ended real estate investing were wrong; real estate and REITs are an important part of the market. With the new GICS sector, REITs will get increased attention. Greater attention is not a guarantee of investment results.

The posts on this blog are opinions, not advice. Please read our Disclaimers.

Pan Asia: Leveraged and Inverse ETFs Have Increased in Turnover

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Ellen Law

Former Associate Director, Asia Pacific Market Development

S&P Dow Jones Indices

In recent years, leveraged and inverse (L&I) ETFs have gained significant traction in Asia. Thanks to the relaxation of listing regulations, more L&I ETFs are listing in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and recently Hong Kong.  The number of L&I ETFs listed in Asia is on the rise; it was up to 87 as of June 13, 2016 (see Exhibit 1).

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The underlying indices of L&I ETFs are using different strategies. Leveraged indices are designed to generate a multiple of the return of the underlying index in situations where the investor borrows funds to generate index exposure beyond their cash position.  Inverse indices are designed to provide the inverse performance of the underlying index, representing a short position in the underlying index.

L&I ETFs Drive Turnover in Asia

The growth of AUM and the turnover of L&I ETFs have outpaced those for other non-L&I equity ETFs in the Pan Asia region. This year, the AUM of L&I ETFs grew 6.8%, while other equity ETFs only increased 2.8%.  The turnover of L&I and non-L&I equity ETFs showed a significant difference, with -7.1% and -61.9%, respectively.*  It is worthwhile to highlight that the amount of AUM of L&I ETFs in the Pan Asia region is rather low, but the turnover is high when compared to other equity ETFs.  According to the data released by the Taiwan Stock Exchange, ETF turnover in Taiwan has increased by 45% to 299.5 million units (YoY 2015), and this growth was mainly driven by the strong demand of L&I products.  Taking a look at the bigger picture in Pan Asia, L&I ETFs only represent 5.9% of the total AUM, but they garnered 53.2% of total turnover and thereby bolstered the market liquidity (see Exhibit 2).

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Hong Kong Opens Door for L&I Products

To tap into Asian demand for L&I products, Hong Kong finally opened its doors to allow the listing of those products. The first batch of L&I products have been launched in Hong Kong to bet on and against mainly overseas markets, given that only non-Hong Kong and non-mainland indices were eligible originally.  There are other L&I products in the pipeline, and they are expected to come to the market soon.  Hong Kong has long been thought of as a market with a lack of product innovation and has fallen behind Tokyo and Shanghai by turnover in the region.  With the new L&I listings in Hong Kong, we will see if its market can follow in the examples of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan in their boosting of ETF turnover.

L&I ETFs are becoming more popular, as they may serve as trading tools for investors to potentially amplify returns regardless of market direction. However, investors should be aware that L&I products, unlike conventional ETFs, are designed for short-term trading and associated with potential risks such as daily compounding and daily rebalancing.

The posts on this blog are opinions, not advice. Please read our Disclaimers.