The Markets August 10, 2010

ETF Assets Increased $50B in July

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry assets rose $50 billion for the month of July – up 6.5%, according to the State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) ETF Snapshot. 

Reported by

As of July 31, 2010, 917 ETFs, with assets totaling $822 billion, were managed by 33 ETF managers, the report said.  

The International and Size categories had the largest increases in AUM. The Commodity category saw the largest decline in assets, dropping $3.7 billion, or 4.7%.   

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Large Cap had the largest increase in assets, up $6.7 billion followed by Small Cap with $3.3 billion. AllCap – Value was the only category with a decline in assets for the month, down $2 million.   

All Sector categories saw increases in assets in July with the exception of Materials, down $436 million, or 3.6%. Energy and REITs led asset increases, gaining $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. 

All market ranges recovered in July, with Mid Caps up the most at 7.1%. The best performing area of the market YTD is Small Cap, returning 5.9%.   

By style, Mid Cap Growth was the top performer in July, returning 7.3%, followed by Small Cap Value at 7.2%. Year-to-date, the worst performer is Large Cap Growth, down 1.4%.   

All ten Sectors were positive this month; Telecommunication Services had the best performance up 9.4%. Year-to-date, the best performing sector is Energy, up 6.7%, followed by Industrials, up 6.3%.   

According to the Snapshot report, the top three managers in the U.S. ETF marketplace as of the end of July were BlackRock, SSgA, and Vanguard. Collectively, they account for approximately 84.4% of the U.S.-listed ETF market.   

Year-to-date, BlackRock’s market share fell 0.5% and State Street’s market share fell 1.1%, while Vanguard’s market share increased by 2%.   

The top three ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and PowerShares QQQ [QQQQ]. The top three ETFs in terms of assets for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], SPDR Gold Shares [GLD], and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets [EEM].   

SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond [JNK] saw the highest inflows, up $628 million, followed by Utilities Select Sector SPDR [XLU], up $615 million.  

Products August 10, 2010

SSgA Selected to Sub-Advise Lincoln Variable Life and Annuity Solutions

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has been selected by Lincoln Financial Group to sub-advise variable life insurance and variable annuity investment options. 

Reported by

The new Lincoln Variable Insurance Product (LVIP), the SSgA Global Tactical Allocation Fund, incorporates a range of exchange traded funds (ETFs) including State Street’s SPDR ETFs, as well as eight variable annuity funds currently sub-advised by SSgA Funds Management, Inc. and offered in Lincoln Variable Life and Annuity solutions, including the Lincoln ChoicePlus Assurance variable annuity product platform, according to a press release.   

The fund was transitioned from its existing sub-adviser to SSgA on August 2, 2010.  

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SSgA manages eight individual sub-accounts as well as the LVIP SSgA Index and LVIP SSgA Structured asset allocation offerings within the Lincoln ChoicePlus Assurance offering. 

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