FINANCIAL PRODUCTS RESEARCH

Here are 4 great fund industry conferences and a dicount code for you

3/11/2015

It is the second week of March and the fund industy has entered its busiest season. I just received a number of discounts for 4 great conferences, which i want to share with you. These industry gatherings are produced by FRA. They are very timey. What's even better -- the themes they address are in the highest topical demand.

To get the 10% discount, use code: FMP213. Below i have given you the details for the 4 conferences.

ESG, SRI & Impact Investing Summit- https://www.frallc.com/conference.aspx?ccode=B954
Liquid Alts 2015 - https://www.frallc.com/conference.aspx?ccode=B958
The 19th Sub-Advised Funds Forum- https://www.frallc.com/conference.aspx?ccode=B951
Smart Beta 2.0 - https://www.frallc.com/conference.aspx?ccode=B959

Now let me give you additional info about them:

ESG, SRI, & Impact Investing Summit will take place on March 30-31, 2015 in New York, NY.Socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social and governance (ESG), and impact investing assets are expected to more than double over the next decade.

The 19th Sub-Advised Funds Forum will take place on April 22-23, 2015 in Boston, MA. This is a good educational conference for the sub-advisory and gate-keeping communities. The event is great for networking and starting up business relationships. Network with some of the best and brightest managers, decision-makers and research specialists. This is probably the most important sub-advisory event in the U.S.

And for the first time in the industry, we have Smart Beta 2.0, May 20-21, 2015 to take place in New York, NY. This timely topic is selling ETFs and indexes. It is a very real but also controversial topic -- yet will cover all the latest issues related to to it. It is the only conference on smart beta in the world. Tell folks about it.

Another interesting conference is Liquid Alts 2015 in April 20-21, 2015 in New York, NY.Get exclusive intel on fund structures & allocation strategies plus distribution opportunities, etc. Liquid alternatives continues to be the better choice for investors who are afraid of going totally alternative or hard alternative -- into commodities and real estate. This theme has been selling funds, and gatekeepers are looking for good managers.

That is all for now. Contact me if you have questions. See you there.

Yours truly,
Rob Ivanoff

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Join us tomorrow at the Capital Link Global ETF Forum

4/23/2014

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Dear all,

Tomorrow is the 13th Annual Capital Link Global ETF Forum -- i look forward to seeing you, as nearly 1000 industry folks (!) are expected to be there. It should be a great day of networking. Here is a link to this event. We have been religious participants since 2010 and every year it has been a great forum to learn and meet people from all over the world.Earn up to 9 CFP Continuing Education credits. There is also a complimentary registration for Advisors and Investors.

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Come join us at the ETP Distribution Summit

4/3/2014

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The ETF Business Review will be attending the ETP Distribution Summit, New York May 1-2 (exclusive discount for our subscribers)

Come join us at the ETP Distribution Summit – May 1-2, 2014 at the Doubletree Hilton Metropolitan New York. The inaugural ETP Distribution Summit is the only event of its kind, with an exclusive focus on the sponsor community and potential market entrants. It will inspire new approaches to the industry as well as offer practical guidance on how to succeed in ETP distribution in the next phase of the market’s development.

**ETF Business Review subscribers are eligible for a 10% registration discount with Code FMP213**

Top Reasons to Attend:

Hear directly from ETP sponsors on channel segmentation strategies
Understand directly from decision-making analysts on research and due diligence considerations for distribution across channels
Learn from case studies on successful and innovative forays into the ETP arena
Identify opportunities and gaps in ETP coverage of the investment market
Fine tune your grasp of what promotes capital markets success
Evaluate game-changing marketing strategies to educate consumers
Gain insight into opportunities and the regulatory landscape of the global marketplace
Assess successful sales management strategies
Investigate approaches mutual fund companies are taking to infiltrate the ETP universe
Network with leaders in the field

For more information and to register, contact Whitney Betts at 704-341-2445 or wbetts@frallc.com

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RBC Global Asset Management introduces new equity and bond ETFs; expands its leadership in the Canadian marketplace

1/15/2014

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RBC today announced the launch of four new rules-based ETFs designed for regular monthly income.They are now available for purchase by advisors, individual and institutional investors on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Among them is the first dividend ETF in Canada focused on Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia (EAFE). In addition, RBC also announced it has reduced the management fee on seven of the existing RBC Target Maturity Corporate Bond ETFs. Attached below is RBC's updated ETF lineup, click on the pic below ~ Rob Ivanoff (the ETF Business Review, FPR, Boston)

Go to RBC's ETF product page here.

etfs-admin-sheets1.pdf
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The ETF Business Review will be attending the Mutual Fund Distribution Forum, Boston Dec 2-3, 2013 (exclusive discount for our subscribers)

11/8/2013

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Come join us at the Mutual Fund Distribution Forum – December 2-3, 2013 at the Harvard Club of Boston. Thought-leading distribution strategists from mutual fund giants and boutiques will share practices as they relate to gatekeeper relationships, professional buyers, leading sales teams, and fees and pricing pressures. **ETF Business Review subscribers are eligible for a 10% registration discount with Code FMP213**

Topics at a Glance

Technology, Big Data, and its Applications: Strategies Incorporating Distribution Trends and Predictive Analytics
Segmentation Strategy: Making Channel Bets
Channel Strategy: The National Broker/Dealers
Channel Strategy: The Independent and Regional Broker/Dealers
Channel Strategy: The RIA Market
Professional Buyers: The Keys to Gaining Platform and Model Portfolio Access
Leveraging the Field Sales Organization: Maximizing Existing Resources
Internal Advisor Consulting: Reaching the 92%
Boutique Mutual Funds: The Successes and Challenges of Diversifying the Mutual Fund Universe
Distribution Fees: The Stakes, the SEC, and the Choices

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Franklin Templeton enters the active ETF market – with a premium-priced copycat fund

11/4/2013

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Franklin Templeton will launch its first ETF on Tuesday, after months of mixed signals. The Franklin Short Duration U.S. Government ETF is an active ETF and will cost 30 basis points. The AETF targets an estimated average portfolio duration of 3 years or less. It will invest in government securities at nearly 80% of assets. The filing also mentions gov. credit derivatives.

Analysis: Franklin’s AETF is a copycat sixth-to-market fund. It will join five other similar AETFs (see table) from competing asset managers such as FlexShares, SSgA, Guggenheim, and PIMCO, who are years ahead in product innovation in ETFs compared to Franklin Templeton. It looks, as if Franklin assumes, that pricing this ETF at a premium, compared to its competitors (with exception of PIMCO’s MINT), will magically work with advisors. Given that Treasuries could be bought at no cost, the premium pricing of this AETF signals Franklin's product team is out of touch with the the market's reality (blame the seven figures consultants). This will backfire and it will be quickly adjusted. Still, given Franklin Templeton’s established relationships, expect this ETF to reach at least $100 million by end of 2014 or earlier. See the table below for competing AETFs (active ETFs). Read the filing here.

(Note: to read more, sign at our front page for the ETF Business Review -- the leading fund intelligence for institutional investors.)

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On lifelong learning: an interview with Sean Walters, CEO of IMCA

10/23/2013

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Sean Walters is the CEO of IMCA (Investment Management Consultants Association). In this interview, Sean Walters took time to discuss his views on the changing marketpalce with Rob Ivanoff. IMCA serves more than 9,000 members including more than 6,400 CIMA certificants and 680 CPWA designees, as of September, 2013.

Sean, what is new with IMCA?

Lots of exciting change is happening at IMCA. We are updating both of our certification programs -- Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA). This is done based on job-task analyses that define the knowledge and skills required for delivering investment advice and wealth management. This assures our programs addresses the changing practices. It also assures the certified members are well-equipped to meet their clients’ needs. We also announced earlier this year that our membership now exceeds 9,000. We are proud of this milestone and feel fortunate our membership has grown every year—even during the financial crisis—since our inception in 1985. Our conferences continue to draw thousands of attendees every year, and we work hard to make them successful. We have already announced several speakers for next year’s Annual Conference in Boston, May 4-7, 2014. I’m looking forward to the conference and our members are too.

Are the demographics of CIMA advisors changing? What is CIMA-advisor growth lately?

Yes, the demographics are changing. Independent financial advisors (more RIAs than independent broker-dealers and dually-registered advisors) represent the largest segment of CIMA applicants the first half of 2013. These independent advisors are starting to understand they need a CIMA professional, on their team, to effectively manage clients’ investments, and a CPWA professional on their team if they serve a large percentage of HNW clients. We are also seeing more applications from individuals who serve in distribution roles at asset management firms. Earning CIMA certification gives them the confidence and credibility to sit across the table from advisors and recommend investments while providing consultative services to the advisor and their client. Currently, 6,400 professionals are CIMA-certified, up about 30 % since 2007. We expect the number to continue to grow as all types of financial professionals understand the value of certifications. Independent research by the Aite Group confirms that CIMA professionals are more satisfied with their careers, earn better compensation, and manage more assets for higher-net-worth clients than other advisors. (continued on the next page…..)

You travel the nation across widely. What are the biggest challenges facing the financial advisory today?

One of the biggest challenges is overcoming the lack of consumer confidence. Five years removed from the financial crisis, investors still don’t trust advisors and the industry to do what’s right. The industry needs to find ways to help investors trust again. Earning required securities licenses is necessary, but voluntary certification assures advisors have the competency to deliver the services they advertise. Certified advisors communicate to their clients, that they are committed to serving them to the best of their ability. Earning certifications is one small step in helping restore faith -- that those in our industry will do the right thing.

Fund providers love IMCA’s conferences. What good strategies and opportunities exist for them? (How can fund providers educate and sell better at IMCA events?)

Fund providers that exhibit and sponsor at our conferences have a unique opportunity to spend three days with our attendees. IMCA members average AUM is $327M -- so the caliber of attendee is very high. I think that the best way fund providers can connect with these attendees is to offer solutions—tangible ideas and best practices—that can help the attendees in their business. Rather than promoting a product, I recommend really listening to the attendees and making a concerted effort to understand their business.

IMCA annual conference is the most memorable industry event. What should we expect from the next Annual Conference - scheduled to be in Boston 2014?

The 2014 IMCA Annual Conference in Boston promises to be one of the top events of the year. The Conference is historically the largest association gathering of investment advisors and wealth managers in the U.S. and 2014 will be no different. We’ve already lined up a handful of engaging speakers, including statistician Nate Silver, retirement guru Moshe Milevsky, with many more to be announced soon. Our conference program is completely peer-reviewed. Our attendees regularly tell us they truly appreciate this unbiased perspective. Feedback tells us that conference attendees get an education they can’t find anywhere else.

In closing: Sean, what would you like to tell the readers of the ETF Business Review today?

I would urge readers to be committed to being lifelong learners. The industry is complex and today’s investing world is increasingly global. If you’re not continually learning, you are, in effect, falling behind the competition. The best way to serve clients is to continue to improve by constantly enhancing your skills and expertise. IMCA provides resources like education and certifications to help accomplish this, and I would encourage your readers who aren’t familiar with IMCA to check us out by joining IMCA as a member, or by attending one of our conferences or Best of IMCA regional seminars. Details are on our website at www.IMCA.org.
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To subscibe for the ETF Business Review sign here or contact me at rob.ivanoff@financialproductsresearch.com

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Thinking long term: An interview with Jim Wiandt, CEO of IndexUniverse

2/27/2013

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Jim Wiandt is the founder and CEO of IndexUniverse: In this interview, Rob Ivanoff caught up with Jim Wiandt during the Inside ETFs 2013 conference in Hollywood FL. Mr. Wiandt is the head of a publishing organization which includes the Journal of Indexes, IndexUniverse.com, ETF Analytics, Inside ETF events, and some upcoming offerings. A writer, an adventurer at heart, and a publisher by trade, this well-spoken and witty man has great understanding of the exchange-traded funds (ETF) industry.

What are the main challenges facing the ETFs industry, at the Inside ETF conference in FL?

What I heard come up a lot is what we have heard for years: education. There is still a gap between the knowledge of the end investor and the level of sophistication of some ETFs, and this can taint the vast majority of ETFs, that are very much what you see (and what you think you see) is what you get. Again, from an investor perspective, it is a good problem, because there are more efficient ETFs in more places than ever before, and increased competition will continue to drive that.

In 2009, you wrote a blog post asking “Is active trading the real story behind the ETF boom?” What is the real story right now?

Well I think there is just a huge mix of many different kinds of investors in the ETF market. There are large institutions using ETFs as placeholders, high frequency traders and hedge funds trading, tactically focused advisors and retail making bets on market segment, and investors of the most boring sort, focused on smart asset allocation, broad diversification and efficient access to markets. At this point everyone -- from grandma to hot-rodding traders play a big role in the ETF market.

Jim, you travel between Europe and the U.S. and have a great grasp on advances in both markets. What is your advice for U.S. asset managers looking to expand their fund offerings abroad? What good strategies and market opportunities exist for them?

I think it is very very tough. There are so few examples of native-based US companies (especially in finance) who have done very well in Europe. There are two primary reasons for this. One is that distribution is so closed and so nationally focused in Europe. There really is a lock, by and large, by national banks over their home countries, particularly for retail, but even at an institutional level. The other issue is cultural and knowledge. A US approach will not work in Europe. You need to understand local culture, regulatory regimes, distribution mechanisms, tax structures, etc. to have a chance to succeed. I do think there are still HUGE opportunities in Europe and that the European advisor and retail markets for ETF is nascent and will boom.

What innovations and initiatives should we expect from Index Universe in the future? In addition to your conference business, you guys recently launched indexes. Do you see this as part of a future strategy?

We'll continue to build new products wherever we think we can do something very well and where there's a place both in the market and in our business model for it. I think you'll continue to see the depth and quality of our analytics business in particular deepen. Indexes at this time primarily support our analytics platform as benchmarks.

Jim, you started your own business. What is your advice to every advisor and asset manager starting in the business?

First, know that you love what you do and respect the people you work with and work for. Second - be ready to give EVERYTHING you have to your business, your passion, be ready to bleed into it, to scratch and claw your way to success. Having your own business can be very tough, but it's enormously liberating and if you really are doing what you love, I strongly believe that most people can find a way to make it work with drive, heart and perseverance. Having good friends and supportive family and finding a balance can all help as well. I've been lucky to have been in a great industry with lots of quality people and to have surrounded myself with extremely talented people who really do love what they do. When it's fun for everyone, that's when you know you're doing something right.

What is your outlook on active ETFs versus passive?

The jury has been out on active ETFs for many years. Right now they are hardly a blip in overall ETF assets. It does appear that because of the relentless flow of assets from traditional mutual funds into ETFs, that more big traditional active managers are looking seriously at the ETF market. There are reasons they've been reluctant to really embrace it, most importantly a fear of cannibalization to lower fees and disintermediation of their investors to the secondary market. But I do really think it's an instance - and the history of capitalism is littered with them where you either join in or get left behind.

Jim, you featured Brian Cashman from the Yankees as one of your main speakers; how can we apply his lessons to the ETF industry?

Well, put your nose down, work hard and strive to be the very best in everything you do. If you couple that with skills and surround yourself with good people, you should do OK. Of course the Yankees have done more than just OK in Cashman's tenure. I liked his understated manner and his focus really just on competence.

How do you expect the advisory business to change -- in the next 10 years?

Well, one big trend we're seeing for sure is the rise of so called Third Party Managers (TPMs) who build baskets of ETFs. Some of these managers are very very good - institutional caliber investors focused on exposures and risks. And others are the cowboys who charge too much and have a gamblers mentality. But they'll continue to grow. More and more advisors and retail investors will be looking at the market in terms of exposures instead of who the best active managers are and what the best stock picks are. That is the major trend that ETFs have driven that is a sea change in investing mentality.

Your Inside ETFs events have grown into one of the most prestigious industry gatherings. How can fund firms materialize their goal of reaching advisors at this event?

Well above all, of course, spend time with the advisors, and take the time to understand their needs and their businesses. The best issuers, like the best businesses in general really listen to the market and build to meet it.

In summary, Jim, what would you like to tell the readers of the ETF Business Review today?

I love where our business is at and I could not be any happier working in the ETF industry - which is dynamic, every changing, always interesting, and as I said full of individuals who genuinely are focused on quality and investor interest. It's been great to be a part of a movement that has greatly benefited investors. And we'll continue to push to see more investors better invested in better products. If we do that, we're doing our job and our business, and the ETF business will continue to grow for many years to come.

Rob is the editor of the ETF Business Review, intelligence for asset managers.

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READ THE DOCUMENT: Two U.S. pension funds are suing BlackRock/iShares accusing the firm of “looting” and “syphoning off “investors in iShares ETFs

2/4/2013

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To read the case please click below. In the latest ETF Business Review, FPR took position in favor of iShares, as we believe many of the studies cited in the document below come from questionable sources. Further, share lending has made US markets more liquid and competitive; further share lending is helping ETF firms provide innovation in the indexing space and lower costs to record-low single digits. Eventual regulations can come up with a clear number that is required for share lending; however, the enforcing of this will be impossible and too costly.

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NEW: Keith Wandell stops to greet the ETF Business Review and its CEO Rob Ivanoff

12/26/2012

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Here are 4 great fund industry conferences and a dicount code for you

Join us tomorrow at the Capital Link Global ETF Forum

Come join us at the ETP Distribution Summit

RBC Global Asset Management introduces new equity and bond ETFs; expands its leadership in the Canadian marketplace

The ETF Business Review will be attending the Mutual Fund Distribution Forum, Boston Dec 2-3, 2013 (exclusive discount for our subscribers)

Franklin Templeton enters the active ETF market – with a premium-priced copycat fund

On lifelong learning: an interview with Sean Walters, CEO of IMCA

Thinking long term: An interview with Jim Wiandt, CEO of IndexUniverse

READ THE DOCUMENT: Two U.S. pension funds are suing BlackRock/iShares accusing the firm of “looting” and “syphoning off “investors in iShares ETFs

NEW: Keith Wandell stops to greet the ETF Business Review and its CEO Rob Ivanoff

THE ETF BUSINESS REVIEW BLOG

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