Much of the improvement in July was driven by a pick-up in new orders. This was led by a surge in export orders from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates, said the PMI survey.
Vanguard Lowers Fees for Target Retirement Trusts
Vanguard has announced it is lowering fees for its Target Retirement Trusts by 5% to 10% across the board, saving investors an estimated $20 million.
Effective as of April 1, fees will fall between 0.25 basis points (bps) and 0.5 bps, depending on which program a client is invested in.
This fee reduction for Vanguard Target Retirement Trusts follows Vanguard’s announcement in December of new lower minimums for the Vanguard Institutional Target Retirement Funds. The lower minimums saved investors an estimated $16 million as more participants gained access to lower-priced funds.
Vanguard Target Retirement Trusts are organized as collective investment trusts (CITs), a type of pooled account that capitalizes on the economies of scale of larger workforces to lower costs. The trusts offer multiple price points so clients can reap the benefits of lower fees as plan assets grow.
SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets USD Bond ETF (EMHC). The fund was developed to provide exposure to US dollar-denominated debt issued by sovereign and quasi-sovereign emerging market issuers.
EMHC may provide investors with an attractive source of income and diversification benefits due to emerging markets debt’s low historical correlation to other global bond sectors.
“With yields relatively low across US bond markets, investors are increasingly looking elsewhere to generate income,” said Sue Thompson, head of SPDR Americas Distribution at State Street Global Advisors. “Emerging market debt has seen solid growth over the last decade. However, we believe many investors may be under-allocated to this asset class. EMHC provides a convenient and cost-effective means to access emerging market debt while guarding against short-term fluctuations in the dollar.”