WisdomTree, a US-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced that it will expand into Europe through a majority investment in UK-based ETP provider Boost. WisdomTree will invest $20 million in working capital to fund the build-out of a local European platform to be led by ETF industry veterans Hector McNeil and Nik Bienkowski. Through this platform, WisdomTree intends to launch a select range of UCITS ETFs under the WisdomTree brand and continue to manage and grow the Boost lineup of short and leveraged ETPs under the Boost brand.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has unveiled a new index designed to measure the performance of companies that capture a major engine of growth within the emerging markets – domestic demand – by emphasizing the consumer staples, consumer discretionary, telecommunication services, healthcare, and utilities sectors. Vinit Srivastava, Senior Director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said: “The S&P Emerging Markets Domestic Demand Index consists of companies whose performance is tied to the domestic demand in their respective market.”

Pimco, a leading global manager of fixed income investments, and Source, a European provider of exchange-traded products, have introduced a dividend distributing share class for the Pimco EM Advantage Local Bond Index Source ETF. Ted Hood, CEO of Source, said: “We are pleased to be able to launch a dividend distributing share class in response to strong client demand. EM local debt offers interesting yield opportunities which a number of clients have expressed the desire to receive as monthly distributions.”

The Canadian exchange-traded funds (ETF) industry experienced impressive growth in 2013 and its ongoing success will be determined by how well providers respond to key investor needs. That’s according to a report released by BMO Global Asset Management, one of Canada’s leading ETF providers. The report notes that the growth of the Canadian ETF industry continued unabated in 2013 and currently stands at $63.1 billion in assets under management, up $5 billion over last year and an increase of 11.9 per cent over year-end 2012.

Source, a London-based provider of exchange-traded products, and CSOP Asset Management, a Hong Kong-based asset manager, have filed with the US Securities & Exchange Commission to launch an ETF providing physical exposure to China “A-shares”. The new ETF will aim to track the performance of the FTSE China A50 Index, which comprises the top 50 companies in mainland China. The intention of Source and CSOP to enter the US ETF market follows a similar co-operation in Europe.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment manager behind the SPDR exchange-traded funds brand, has announced that it has registered 41 ETFs in Spain. Olivier Paquier, head of SPDR ETFs for France and Spain at SSgA, said: “We are seeing increasing demand from Spanish investors for ETFs and we believe the ETF industry in Spain offers exciting growth potential. Through these newly available SPDR ETFs, Spanish investors will benefit from exposure to an extensive range of asset classes, in a simple, transparent and cost-effective way.”

Source, a London-based provider of exchange-traded products, has teamed up with Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs to launch an ETF designed to outperform traditional equity benchmarks. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Source Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index World UCITS ETF (EFIW) aims to deliver consistent outperformance versus market capitalization benchmarks, on both an absolute and risk-adjusted basis, by emphasizing key market factors. The ETF joins a growing list of so-called “smart beta” funds, which are fast gaining in popularity.

Lyxor, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has expanded its range of sector-focused ETFs with the launch of the Lyxor UCITS ETF Euro Stoxx Banks (BNKE). The new ETF, which has been listed on the NYSE Euronext, provides exposure to banks based in the eurozone, offering investors a vehicle to potentially benefit from the improving environment for the region’s banks and expected further re-rating of the sector.

ETF Securities, a leading provider of exchange-traded products (ETPs), saw increased levels of interest from investors in its short and leveraged ETPs range in 2013, registering $42 million of net inflows across its alternative equities, commodities, and foreign exchange products. Net inflows across all European providers of short and leveraged products came in at $249 million, driven primarily by positive flows in fixed income and currency products.

Market Vectors, a US-based provider of exchange-traded funds, has entered the smart beta space with the launch of four ETFs powered by factor-based indices from MSCI. The new ETFs, which have been listed on the NYSE Arca, focus on international and emerging markets quality and quality dividend stocks, enabling investors potentially to access the extra returns historically associated with these factor strategies in an index-based, cost-efficient format.