ETFs

ETFs

Investors have been trading equities en masse, according to the latest data from BlackRock, with 94% of a record $262.7bn of flows accounted for by the asset class last month.

BlackRock has entered a definitive agreement to acquire the exchange-traded funds (ETF) business of Credit Suisse, in a deal set to complete by the end of the second quarter.

David Gardner, head of EMEA sales and BlackRock's iShares veteran, is set to retire after 12 years.

Hector McNeil, an ex managing partner of ETF Securities, has predicted major consolidation in the ETF industry over the next few years.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the US presidential election, the fiscal cliff and Hurricane Sandy saw inflows into global ETFs slow sharply in October, according to consultancy ETFGI.

Bidders for Credit Suisse's ETF arm will be getting it "on the cheap" as the sale is another example of a bank being forced to sell assets to strengthen its capital positions, according to Citi.

PASSIVES

Credit Suisse is selling its $17.2bn European ETF business, with BlackRock and State Street among the firms that have bid for the business, according to reports.

BlackRock's iShares has launched the first ETF to offer exposure to global AAA and AA rated government bond exposure.