Securities & Exchange Commission

In the last year, exchange-traded fund companies have created a turf war, with new funds looking to steal investment dollars directly from their competitors. Following the same trend, Charles Schwab has filed with the SEC to create three new fixed income ETFs. The three new funds are the Schwab US TIPS ETF, the Schwab Short-Term [...]

Jefferies has filed with the SEC to create a new fund capitalizing on Wall Street fear. The fund will track the volatility index, giving investors an opportunity to profit on changes in investor sentiment. The Jefferies S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXX), as it will be named, will undercut already existing competition with a [...]

ETF investors experienced their first glimpse at how connected financial ETFs are to Goldman Sachs. Following news of the SEC investigation, Goldman’s stock tumbled – and so did many financial ETFs. Some of the most under-diversified ETFs are the iShares DJ U.S. Broker-Dealers ETF (IAI: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) and SPDR KBW Capital Markets [...]

Months after exchange-traded funds crossed the coveted $1 trillion dollar mark, exchange-traded notes have finally crossed $10 billion in global assets. The rise of the ETN is tied with the improving credit markets, which leave investors satisfied that counter-parties can make good on claims. Growth in the exchange-traded note sector is coming from funds already [...]

Planning for the future, Direxion has filed with the SEC to create 36 new funds. 34 of these will be bullish and bearish triple leveraged funds, all pending during the heat of a SEC review. Following the popularity of geographically centered ETFs, many of the new funds will be leveraged around a portfolio of stocks [...]

Exchange-traded notes have proven popular with investors and issuers alike for providing perfect tracking of favorite stocks, bonds, and even commodities. As the SEC probes into derivatives, these products could become even more popular. The SEC halted the creation of new exchange-traded funds backed by swaps and derivatives, but has held the door open for [...]

U.S. One Trust, a young investment manager created less than two years ago, has filed for its first exchange-traded fund. The ETF will be a fund of funds, seeking to track emerging market stocks while keeping close tabs to the S&P 500. The One Fund (ONEF: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), as it will be [...]

As another reaction to the 2008 meltdown, the SEC will put a temporary halt to exemptive relief for exchange-traded funds that invest primarily in derivatives.  The SEC has indicated that it is reviewing regulatory overhauls that may help ease the growing reliance on derivative products. The deferral will only impact new unapproved filings with the [...]

First Trust will dress up a line of stock funds with a new bond fund, according to a recent filing with the SEC. The company’s first foray into the bond market will include an index centered on the largest US companies. First Trust is expanding at an incredible pace, filing for both a new fixed [...]

Eaton Vance Corp, known for its products in the closed-end fund business, has filed with the SEC to create a line of exchange-trade products. Its experience as a CEF manager may prove to be a powerful asset in attracting assets to its ETFs. The company follows several other top CEF and mutual fund sponsors into [...]