Includes bibliographical references / Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) have become important members of the investment universe. They are praised by institutional and retail investors alike for their low cost, transparency and efficient pricing mechanisms. ETPs trade much like equity securities but with a unique creation and redemption mechanism which typically aligns quoted prices with the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the underlying securities. This dissertation examines a class of ETPs whose underlying reference basket consists of securities listed on stock exchanges operating in a time zone different to the time zone of the ETP instrument itself, and whose currencies of the underlying securities are different to the currency of the ETP instrument. The ETP instruments reviewed comprise of the iShares MSCI Country Series and are all listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The ETPs are classified into three groups depending on the degree of overlap between the exchange operating times on which their underlying securities are traded and the exchange operating times of the NYSE. These groups are non-synchronous for no overlapping hours, partially synchronous for some overlapping hours and synchronous for overlapping hours. By assessing a measure of range-based volatility during 15-minute intra-day intervals throughout the NYSE trading day, an understanding of the volatility profile of these ETPs is determined and analysed. It is found that non-synchronous ETPs do exhibit a higher relative level of volatility when compared to the partially synchronous group. Within the partially synchronous group, evidence of a regime-shift is observed during the period when the market of the underlying securities transitions from open to closed during the NYSE trading session. Another factor observed in the relative volatility profile is the impact of foreign exchange translation. ETPs with underlying securities priced in an emerging market currency show higher relative levels of range-based volatility. However, both emerging market and developed market denominated securities baskets exhibit relatively higher levels of volatility during the opening and closing periods of the US trading day. The results point to the need for caution and understanding of the underlying reference basket when transacting in these ETPs as investors may inadvertently transact at a price which does not reflect the fair-market value of the underlying securities basket due to price distortions as a result of volatility.

La hausse des prix des matières premières observée pendant les années 2000 étant concomitante avec une présence plus accrue des agents financiers sur ces marchés a suscité entre l'intérêt des chercheurs. Cette hausse des prix a eu lieu avec une transformation des marchés de matières premières que cela soit dû à la présence de nouveaux instruments financiers ou à des investissements plus importants dans ces marchés. Les deux premiers chapitres de cette thèse étudient l'impact sur les matières premières de la présence d'Exchange-Traded Products dont le but est d'offrir aux investisseurs financiers une exposition passive aux matières premières. Au cours de ces études, il est démontré que le mécanisme (dit de création/rédemption) utilisé pour délivrer la performance de la matière première sous-jacente aux investisseurs a un impact sur le prix du sous-jacent, sur sa volatilité et sa corrélation au marché des actions. Enfin, ces mêmes instruments sont devenus les principaux contributeurs à la fonction de découverte des prix alors que traditionnellement cette fonction était assurée par les marchés à terme. Le dernier chapitre de ce manuscrit de thèse étudie la saisonnalité à la fois des prix et des positions des différents types d'agents présents sur le marché à terme des matières premières agricoles. Les résultats montrent que la saisonnalité des positions sur le marché à terme a été modifiée par la présence accrue des agents financiers. Cette thèse quantifie et démontre que les nouveaux supports d'investissement et les positions plus nombreuses de ces mêmes investisseurs sur le marché à terme ont modifié les caractéristiques financières et fondamentales des matières premières. / Commodity prices rise observed during the 2000s being concomitant with the increasing presence of financial agents has sparked the researchers’ interest. This price increase occurred while commodity markets have been transformed by new financial instruments or larger investments in these markets. The first chapter of this thesis are studying the impact on commodities of Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) whose purpose is to provide investors a passive exposure to commodities. During this study, it is shown that the mechanism (called creation / redemption) used to deliver the performance of the underlying commodity to the investors has an impact on the price of the underlying asset, its volatility and its correlation with the stock market. The second chapter demonstrates that ETPs have become major contributors to the price discovery process whereas traditionally this function was performed by the futures market. The final chapter of this PhD thesis is studying seasonality in both the prices and positions of different types of agents on the futures market for agricultural commodities. The results show that seasonal positions in the futures market have been changed by the increased presence of financial agents. This thesis quantifies and demonstrates that new investment vehicles and an increasing number of positions of financial investors in the futures market have changed the financial and fundamental characteristics of commodity markets.

本文旨在探討台灣發行交易所交易債券之可行性。台灣近年交易所交易基金發展蓬勃，無論掛牌檔數、資產規模、交易金額皆向上成長，惟根據中華民國證券商業同業公會的統計，台灣證券商受託買賣外國集中市場有價證券之規模亦逐年增加，顯示目前台灣金融交易市場所提供之金融商品並不足以滿足市場需求，仍有發展空間。2016年1月，台灣金融監督管理委員會開放國內證券商接受投資人委託買賣外國交易所交易債券，本文透過闡述交易所交易債券之產品特性及分析各國交易所交易債券之發行及上市規範和稅制，進一步為台灣發行交易所交易債券之相關政策給出具體建議。 / This study aims to make practical suggestions on exchange-traded note issuance in Taiwan. Data from Taiwan Securities Association shows that the trading value of securities firms accepting orders to trade foreign securities keeps growing these years, suggesting that the financial product line in Taiwan is not diversified enough to satisfy the market needs. Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission has announced that securities firms are opened to accept orders to trade foreign exchange-traded notes since January 2016. Before opening domestic exchange-traded note market, related regulations have to be built. Exchange-traded note, the product itself, as well as the issuance and listing rules and taxation in different countries are therefore analyzed in this paper to make further suggestions on exchange-traded note issuance in Taiwan.

This thesis examines which factors that affect the number of trades in exchange-traded products (ETPs) on Nordic Derivatives Exchange. Multiple linear regression is used to model the relationship between the number of trades and 65 initially chosen predictor variables. The predictor variables include various indices, commodities, stocks, and volatility measures. Two models are presented, one of which includes a lagged dependent variable. These models explain 89% and 92% of the variance within the data. Foremost, the results confirm previous research advocating the volatility to play a significant role on the number of trades, but now also shown for ETPs. Currency exchange rates, equity indices and palladium are also shown to be statistically significant. In addition, interpretations of the results are given and suggestions for further research. / Den här uppsatsen undersöker vilka faktorer som påverkar antalet avslut i börshandlade produkter (ETP:er) på Nordic Derivatives Exchange. Multipel linjär regression används för att undersöka relationen mellan antalet avslut och 65 på förhand valda regressionsvariabler som vi anser intressanta att undersöka. Dessa regressionsvariabler består av bland annat olika index, råvaror, aktier samt volatilitetsmått. Två modeller presenteras, varav en inkluderar en laggad beroende variabel. Dessa två modeller förklarar 89 % respektive 92% av variationen i datan. Resultatet visar att volatiliteten har en signifikant påverkan med avseende på antal avslut vilket bekräftar tidigare forskning, men visas nu gälla även för ETPer. Valutakurser, aktieindex och palladium visas vara signifikanta. Vidare ges tolkning av resultatet och förslag på framtida forskning.