Derivs - Equity

Singapore-based Quant Asset Management will launch an Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities replica of its global equities fund next month.

Underperformance of emerging market equity indices over the past few weeks has sparked strategists at Citigroup to pitch option strategies on the continuance of the trend. Strategists at Société Générale are calling for a turnaround and have seen above average investor interest in long option plays on emerging markets.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange announced the launch of a new index called SKEW on Feb. 23.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions is considering setting out a principle that electronic trading platforms of over-the counter derivatives should accept multiple dealers.

Credit Suisse has launched reverse convertible structured notes with a low barrier of 20%, meaning that an investor’s capital will be protected up until an 80% drop in the underlying while still being able to receive a quarterly variable coupon payment.

Kazuma Naito, head of equity derivative flow sales to hedge funds for Asia at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong has, left the firm.

Banks who already hold a derivatives license in China will automatically be granted an ordinary license under new rules, according to a Chinese-language question and answer released by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Swaps counterparties would be blocked from using updated and improved valuation methods, under a proposal by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. They’d also get locked in to prices on the swaps that reflect the mid-market point, not actual traded prices, say lawyers and advisors in New York.

New York hedge fund Ore Hill Partners will deploy interest rate swaptions, credit default swaps and currency options in a new fund. Ore Hill Japan Credit Opportunities Fund is being launched after the positive performance of the strategy in the firm’s Ore Hill Fund attracted investment, a firm portfolio manager told Derivatives Week.

The Chinese State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has imposed tight requirements for state-owned enterprise derivatives use, including a prior-approval requirement for any offshore commodity derivatives.

The Autorité des marchés financiers, France’s market regulator, has struck out on its own to propose broker-dealers and other market intermediaries give investors early notification about modifications slated to hit securitizations and derivatives, as well as provide investors with regular quarterly reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is restricting the investment possibilities for new fixed-income exchange-traded funds, particularly actively managed vehicles, according to executives from Vanguard Group and PIMCO.