P.M. Funds Roundup: Bitcoin Hits 2016 High; Hedge Fund Math; Vanguard Fee Cuts

Bitcoin prices set new high for 2016, shoot past $870. — CoinDesk

Many hedge funds reap far higher percentages of their gains than that stated in their fee structure. — New York Times

Deep inside Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge-fund firm, software engineers work on technology that would automate most of the firm’s management. — WSJ

President-elect Donald Trump’s team promises transparency regarding Carl Icahn‘s advisory role. — Reuters

Vanguard Group cuts fees on dozens of funds — Barron’s

Retail ETFs: Naughty Not Nice

Retailers and retail-focused exchange traded funds are taking a hit ahead of the Christmas weekend, and the selloff is ruining any chance that the Dow will hit 20,000 before the holiday.

Bond ETFs: The Next Big Thing?

The fixed income market has been a loser, and appears to be only getting worse amid fears of bond-eroding interest rate hikes and inflation.

But big banks are ramping up competition in the bond ETF space. J.P. Morgan (JPM) recently announced plans to launch at least six bond ETFs next year, a move that will pit it even more firmly against rivals such as Goldman Sachs (GS). Both firms have one bond ETF each, while BlackRock (BLK) has more than 200.

And at ETF.com, contributor Matt Hougan opines that despite a potential bear market in returns, fixed-income ETFs could be the fastest growing corner of the fixed-income market over the next three years.

Vanguard Cuts Fees on Dozens Of Funds

What do you want for Christmas? If it’s lower fees on mutual funds, Vanguard Group is playing Santa. The Pennsylvania-based fund giant today reported lower expense ratios on a slug of 35 funds, including 11 ETFs.

Will Investors Keep Pouring Into Equity ETFs?

Sandler O’Neill & Partners analyst Andrew Disdler makes an interesting observation. Following periods of out-sized organic growth (or attrition), ETF flows tend to revert back to the mean over time. Thus, sustained periods of extreme strength (or weakness) are uncommon.

To look at it another way: Don’t count on big fund flows to last forever. Eventually, it all goes back to normal.

Hedge Funds: December Outflows “Could Be Ugly”

Investors redeemed an estimated $2.2 billion from hedge funds in November, bringing YTD outflows to $83.1 billion, according data from eVestment’s latest hedge fund asset flow report. A deeper dive into the data behind that figure shows that large funds were the big losers, and fund flows in December “could be ugly.”

What Does Wall Street’s “Fear Index” Tell Investors About 2017?

Wall Street’s fear index shows that investors are feeling comfortable right now. But will volatility return as markets roll into 2017.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell to its lowest intraday level in more than a year yesterday morning, hitting 10.93, a sign that investors aren’t pricing much risk into the market. Apparently, the index’s recent leg down indicates a lack of market moving events on the horizon.

But the index is up 3.5% today to 11.66, and the Dow Industrials are moving away from the much-awaited 20,000 milestone. And some critics complain that investors have become complacent.

Oil Rises; Will OPEC Keep It’s Promise?

Oil prices recovered from an earlier dip, with Brent crude, the global benchmark rising to just over $55 a barrel.

Reuters reports that prices were lifted by strong U.S. economic data, a pause in the U.S. dollar rally and optimism that crude producers would adhere to a deal to cut output. But today’s gains were tempered by the unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories reported last week and moves by Libya to boost output.

Gold Inches Higher; Raymond James Cuts ’17 Outlook To $1,250

Gold prices inched higher Thursday, but remained on track to end yet another week in the red. Raymond James’s Chris Thompson joined the list of analysts tempering their gold outlook for 2017.

Thompson and his team cut their gold by 11% from $1,400 a troy ounce to $1,250 a troy ounce, and lowered silver forecasts by 10% to $18 a troy ounce.

As for gold and silver mining stocks, Thompson remained “constructive” on the group, but urges caution when picking stocks. The sector, he says “is not oversold.”

A.M. Funds Roundup: BAC Retail Clients Pour Into ETFs; The Drama Around Gold

The push to create a closer-knit European banking system is struggling to overcome a basic hurdle: Lenders aren’t merging. — WSJ

Here’s how dramatically investors have been fleeing gold — MarketWatch

Bank of America’s (BAC) retail clients are flooding money into ETFs while selling individual equities — ValueWalk

Goldman Sach’s (GS) ties to scandal-plagued 1MDB run deep — WSJ

Former official at New York State Pension Fund and two brokers have been charged in bribery scheme. — WSJ

The iPath Bloomberg Cotton Subindex Total Return ETN (BAL) is among the commodities exchange traded products getting pinched by the recently resurgent U.S. dollar. — ETFTrends

Smart beta in fixed income ETFs slowly takes toot — ETF.com