Referred to as a “turnkey solution”, Robeco’s strategy utilises bottom-up stock to focus on three secular trends: transforming technologies, changing socio-demographics and “preserving earth”. Robeco renames three multi-asset funds in bid to enhance sustainability focus The Article 8 portfolio will led by portfolio managers Dora Buckulcikova, Marco van Lent and Steef Bergakker, who will be supported by two investment analysts and a 13-strong team of Robeco’s thematic ambassadors. The Big Interview: Robeco CEO on joining the ETF race, navigating regulatory change and UK expansion …

Referred to as a “turnkey solution”, Robeco’s strategy utilises bottom-up stock to focus on three secular trends: transforming technologies, changing socio-demographics and “preserving earth”. Robeco renames three multi-asset funds in bid to enhance sustainability focus The Article 8 fund will led by portfolio managers Dora Buckulcikova, Marco van Lent and Steef Bergakker, who will be supported by two investment analysts and a 13-strong team of Robeco’s thematic ambassadors. The Big Interview: Robeco CEO on joining the ETF race, navigating regulatory change and UK expansion Ralf…

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, questioned the technical details of a GB ISA and highlighted research that suggested the proposed product could potentially fall foul of the regulator’s new Consumer Duty rules. Quilter calls for simplification as Labour backs GB ISA proposals “Independent research commissioned by AJ Bell shows that, when presented with the choice of a British ISA and a Stocks and Shares ISA for their first subscription of the tax year, more people chose the British ISA (35%) than the Stocks and Shares ISA (26%),” Selby said. “Given investors could acce…

Exit polls have projected that Narendra Modi is set to secure a third term, although with a narrower majority than he had set out for. Historically, Indian elections have been notoriously complex and difficult to predict, but after a decade of solid growth, and if Modi does secure re-election, it will likely mark in inflection in India’s growth story. TEMIT’s Chetan Sehgal: The outlook for emerging markets halfway through 2024 During Modi’s pro-business tenure, India has emerged as a major economic powerhouse, overtaking China as the country with the highest GDP growth. Modi’s …

Broadcom’s portfolio spans 26 semiconductor and software infrastructure franchises, which are each run autonomously. According to manager Stephen Yiu, the firm is “the communications and connectivity company” for semiconductors, with an estimated 99% of internet traffic crossing “at least one Broadcom chip”. Within its software infrastructure business, the company works with its largest 600-700 customers to expand their use of its software, he explained, “resulting in a highly attractive margin profile”. “The structural tailwinds behind the sector, combined with the pragmatic approach…

Ethereum’s Surge Amid U.S. ETF Approval Activity

Ethereum (ETH, or ether) has seen a significant price uptick, rising over 25% over the past week. This was primarily driven by increased speculative activity around the potential approval of a spot ether exchange traded fund (ETF) in the United States, demonstrated by higher trading volume and futures open interest leading up to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on May 23rd. By the end of the day on the 23rd, the announcement was made for the approval to list spot Ether ETFs in the United States, in a major turn of events from the past several weeks.

Figure 1: Ether Price, Volume, and Futures Open Interest Prior to Announcement

 

Source: Glassnode, Coinmarketcap, WisdomTree as of May 23, 2024. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance and any investments may go down in value.

In the months leading up to the approval, the SEC review process had been relatively quiet. Expert ETF analysts from Bloomberg had lowered the approval odds from over 50% early in the year1 to 25%2 more recently, as SEC concerns around Ethereum’s classification as a security, and the ability to stake rendered it very different from previously approved Bitcoin. Executives of ETF issuers expressed scepticism on the approval based on their ongoing conversations directly with the SEC. However, this narrative shifted dramatically in the past few days, as issuers submitted amendments to their spot Ether ETF filings. These last-minute amendments caused analysts to quickly shift their views, updating the likelihood of approval to 75% days before the final decision3. This came as a surprise to markets, which quickly reacted to price in the increased likelihood, pushing ether prices and the digital assets markets up more broadly. With the recent SEC approval, the final step before spot Ether ETFs can begin trading is the approval of their ETF registration statements, which should come over the coming weeks.

The ETF Approval’s Potential Market Impact

Earlier this year, the launch of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in the United States garnered record inflows, marking a significant milestone for the asset classes’ maturity. Allocations from retail and institutional investors alike have led to new all-time high prices for bitcoin, and the doubling of the global market for spot crypto products year to date, with over 60B USD managed globally4. The question that has been on investors’ minds is, would we

In a stock exchange notice on Monday (3 June), Brookfield responded to press speculation around its interest in EBOX and said it was assessing a possible cash offer for the entire trust. Private markets giants Brookfield and Oaktree roll out fund platform for UK wealth market It added that there was “no certainty” that an offer of any kind would be made and that no terms had yet been agreed. In accordance with the Takeover Panel’s code, Brookfield is now required by no later than 5pm on 1 July 2024, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the EBOX or to not make on…

In a stock exchange notice today (4 June), the trust said it is trading at a “significant discount”, but argued it its share price does not “accurately reflect” the value of its portfolio. Investment trust buybacks hit highest monthly figure on record According to data from the Association of Investment Companies, ORIT currently holds around £1.1bn in assets and is trading at a 30.1% discount. The decision stemmed from recent valuations achieved through net asset sales as well as the trust’s capital recycling programme. ORIT noted that last year under the programme, it made two …