Asset Management
Japan traders dump short yen positions
TOKYO - Japanese retail foreign exchange margin traders abandoned $16 billion worth of short yen positions within days last week, in a scramble to limit losses from unwinding carry trades.
ETP boom fuels concern over counterparty risk
GLOBAL - Issuance of currency-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs) has soared in the past year, but concerns are emerging over the counterparty risks inherent in these products.
Multi-currency products ride the storm
NEW YORK - Wisdom Tree has confirmed its plans to launch its first multi-currency exchange-traded fund (ETF), as single currency exchange-traded products take the brunt of the rising dollar.
Investors keen on double-short euro ETNs
NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley's Market Vectors double-long leveraged euro exchange-traded notes (ETNs) have outperformed their double-short counterparts by almost 30 times in trading volumes.
Death by association
The application of credit technology to diverse underlyings led to the birth of collateralised foreign exchange obligations in 2006. But despite being built from uncorrelated underlyings, their fortunes have proven highly correlated with the wider market…
BarCap aims to capture FX volatility
LONDON - Barclays Capital has launched three foreign exchange volatility indexes, the BetaVol, Smart BetaVol and AlphaVol. The indexes, which are designed to provide portfolio diversification and event hedge protection against sudden market downturns,…
Pimco reaps "great" currency returns
LONDON & MUNICH - Fixed-income specialist fund manager Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) is confident to reap "great" returns from its first currency fund, according to Thomas Kressin, a Munich-based senior portfolio manager at the firm.
Carrying a mixed bag
Analysts polled by FX Week reveal an industry split on the sustainability of resurging risk appetite and the future of yen-based carry trades. Compiled by Wendy Mock
Is the dollar dross?
Pete Luxton, global markets adviser, and Shant Movsesian, FX options manager, at Informa Global Markets in London, seek ways to benefit from the flagging US dollar
Parker index rises on risk-adjusted basis
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT – The Parker FX index saw a 1.99% return in April, with three-quarters of indexed programmes recording positive results, the remainder reporting losses.
BarCap index fund gains traction
LONDON – The Barclays Intelligent Carry Index (ICI) fund has received "substantial interest" two weeks after launch, according to officials at the bank in London.
Parker Global launches investable forex index
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT – Investment consultant Parker Global Strategies (PGS) has launched PGS FX Alpha Edge, an investable foreign exchange index.
Currency product ‘growth to continue’
LONDON – Demand for currency-linked structured products is set to continue into next year, according to market participants who have already posted strong sales this year.
Managers turn to options
LONDON – Currency managers are increasingly turning to options to derive returns from implied volatility in the currency markets.
State St to launch FX fund in fourth quarter
LONDON -- State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street, is set to launch a currency fund in the fourth quarter as part of its newly created hedge fund strategies group, a senior official at the firm told FX Week .