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  • Mystery Surrounds $7 Billion Outflow From Vanguard S&P 500 Fund
    Business
    Bloomberg

    Mystery Surrounds $7 Billion Outflow From Vanguard S&P 500 Fund

    (Bloomberg) -- A record outflow from one of Vanguard Group’s biggest exchange-traded funds is stirring speculation over who was behind it and why.More than $7 billion was pulled from the $172 billion Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) on a single day this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, about 4% of the fund’s assets. But trading volumes were below the one-year average and there were no obvious outsized transactions, while the U.S. equity benchmark rose on the day -- making a mass exodus less appealing.It’s all leading to a theory that a major holder of the fund executed a large over-the-counter trade.“We think the redemption didn’t show up because it was an outsized primary market sale,” said Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst. Rather than shopping for a tie at a store, “this is like someone going straight to the tiemaker, and that’s rare since most ETF usage is smaller investors,” he said.When cash flows into an ETF, a market maker known as an authorized participant gives the issuer more of the fund’s underlying assets in exchange for new shares to meet demand. When money is being taken out, the process works in reverse.Ordinarily an investor buys or sells their shares on an exchange. But instead of selling on the open market, they could hand them directly to an AP, who can redeem them with the issuer in return for the underlying assets. Those assets can then be sold down by the AP or passed on to the investor to hold or sell.“Trading activity and flows are not actually systemically tied together,” said Dave Nadig, chief investment officer and director of research at ETF Flows, a research and data provider. Since the huge withdrawal didn’t show up on the tape, it suggests an institution collected a position worth $7 billion but preferred to have the underlying assets, he said.It’s not possible to know for certain who pulled out the cash. According to the latest available data, Bank of America Corp. is the largest holder in the fund, with shares worth about $14 billion. Raymond James Financial Inc. is next with about $5.2 billion, followed by Parametric Portfolio Associates with $4.9 billion.Spokespeople for Vanguard and Parametric declined to comment on the flows, while Bank of America and Raymond James didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.The scale of the withdrawal indicates that VOO is now being used by large institutions in addition to being a favorite with retail investors, Balchunas said. The fund is cheaper than its main competitor, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). It has an 0.03% expense ratio, compared with 0.095% for SPY.VOO has attracted $19.5 billion of inflows this year, second only to the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), which has lured $27.8 billion. SPY is leading outflows after seeing $26 billion pulled from the fund.“This really does speak to the usage of ETFs as portfolio tools,” Balchunas said. “VOO is now being used by the big boys.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Cramer Says This EV Startup Has The 'Best Claim To Be The Son Of Tesla,' Gives Blessing To Buy SPAC Stock
    Business
    Benzinga

    Cramer Says This EV Startup Has The 'Best Claim To Be The Son Of Tesla,' Gives Blessing To Buy SPAC Stock

    Jim Cramer has given his "blessing" for investors to buy shares of CIIG Merger Corp (NASDAQ: CIIC), the blank-check company merging with British electric vehicle company Arrival.What Happened: The "Mad Money" host said on his CNBC show that if the stock "comes down below $17.50, you can buy it hand over fist, because this one has the best claim to be the son of Tesla -- or daughter, to break the tyranny of that awful cliche."The automaker, backed by United Parcel Service, Inc (NYSE: UPS), Hyundai Motor Company (OTC: HYMTF), and BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK) is "revolutionizing the entire auto industry, and they own a ton of intellectual property," according to Cramer."They make all their own components, they'll be cost competitive with gasoline and diesel, and that's why Arrival got that $5 billion valuation from the get-go," explained Cramer.Cramer said Arrival's microfactory concept could have an impact beyond auto industry and it could "revolutionize manufacturing.""If they can make an electric van or truck with a lower cost of ownership than the fossil fuel-powered alternatives, that's a whole new ballgame," the former hedge-fund manager theorized.Why It Matters: The merger between CIIG Merger and Arrival was reported last month. The former is backed by Peter Cuneo, the former CEO of Remington and Marvel.BlackRock has pumped in 8 million into Arrival, which would allow the London-based company to open a manufacturing facility in the United States.UPS has placed an order of 10,000 electric vans with Arrival, worth approximately $500 million.Price Action: CIIG Merger shares rose 16.06% to $25.01 in the after-hours session on Thursday and closed nearly 9.6% higher at $21.55.Related Link: A First Look At Amazon's Rivian-Made Electric Delivery VanClick here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news. See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Remains Only Automaker To Grow In Germany Through November, With 37% Rise In Registrations * Moderna Says It Will Ship 100M-125M COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Worldwide In Q1(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Tesla Is Open To A Merger — And Daimler Would Be The Right Fit: Reuters
    Business
    Benzinga

    Tesla Is Open To A Merger — And Daimler Would Be The Right Fit: Reuters

    Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) may have a meager 0.8% global market share but, with its $540 billion valuation, it could acquire a legacy automaker, which Reuters' Christopher Thompson opines should be Germany's Daimler AG (OTC: DDAIF).The Right Fit: Thompson said that while Tesla's rivals in the United States such as General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) "hardly" fit the criterion for acquisition, but the $74 billion Daimler fits the bill because Tesla customers are aspirational and may be amenable to a luxury marquee.Other Candidates that were ruled out by the Reuters' writer include Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC: BMWYY), due to family ownership, Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY) due to its own electric ambitions, and Japanese companies, due to historical acquisition difficulties.Why Daimler: Daimler has the potential to boost the Elon Musk-led company's worldwide car output by nearly four times. The Stuttgart-based automaker's presence in China and Europe, the two biggest battery-vehicle markets would "reinforce Musk's electric offensive," wrote Thompson. He also pointed to the fact that Daimler held a small stake in Tesla in the past.Cherry On The Cake: Under existing U.S. stock-exchange rules, Tesla would require shareholder approval if it sought to increase its outstanding shares by more than 20%. This means, given the company's valuation it could, in theory, purchase a company worth $100 billion or more. Thompson said that Musk could purchase the "Benz empire" without even asking for permission. No Hostile Takeovers Please: On Tuesday, Musk had said in an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner that Tesla was "definitely not going to launch a hostile takeover." He, however, said the electric vehicle maker was open to voluntary and friendly mergers. If a company says "hey, we think it would be a good idea to merge with Tesla,' we'd certainly have that conversation," Musk told Doepfner.Price Action: Tesla shares closed nearly 4.3% higher at $593.38 on Thursday. On the same day, Daimler OTC shares closed 1.4% lower at $68.56.Click here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news. See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Remains Only Automaker To Grow In Germany Through November, With 37% Rise In Registrations * Elon Musk's 'Fav Cryptocurrency' Is A Joke But Its 2020 Returns Are No Laughing Matter(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Business
    MarketWatch

    Where’s the stock market going next? Look at the 1960s for an answer, says a Fidelity strategist

    What's striking is that the stock market after the global financial crisis is closely tracking the bull markets between 1949 and 1968, and the one between 1982 and 2000.