Archive for April 2014

NYSE Euronext introduces trading and liquidity enhancements for ETPs

Apr 29th, 2014 | By
NYSE Euronext introduces trading and liquidity enhancements for ETPs

NYSE Euronext has announced a set of enhancements designed to increase liquidity and market quality in exchange-traded products (ETPs) on its NYSE Arca and NYSE MKT platforms. On May 5, 2014, NYSE MKT will begin trading certain non-equities based ETPs listed on other markets, including NYSE Arca, through the ‘Unlisted Trading Privileges’ (UTP) program, creating a substantial new liquidity pool supported by designated market makers. Additionally, NYSE Arca has received regulatory approval from the SEC to introduce the ‘Crowd Participant Program’ pilot, which will provide issuers of new and already-listed ETPs with an opportunity to utilize an alternative incentive program designed to encourage daily quoting activity.


WisdomTree completes acquisition of short and leveraged ETP specialist Boost

Apr 18th, 2014 | By
Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree CEO and President.

WisdomTree Investments, a New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds, has completed the acquisition of Boost ETP, a London-based issuer of short and leveraged products. WisdomTree will now commence the build-out of a local European platform of UCITS ETFs under the WisdomTree brand and continue to manage and grow the Boost line-up of ETPs under the Boost brand. Jonathan Steinberg, President and CEO of WisdomTree, said: “We are excited to deepen and expand our offerings as the world’s eighth largest ETF sponsor and look forward to serving the European market.”


DeAWM completes move to become one of Europe’s largest providers of physical ETFs

Apr 17th, 2014 | By
Simon Klein, Global Head of Passive Sales at DWS

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) has become one of Europe’s largest providers of physical replication exchange-traded funds following the completion of an ambitious programme to convert 18 synthetic ETFs into physical format. Simon Klein, DeAWM’s Head of Exchange Traded Product Sales, EMEA and Asia, said: “The switching of such a large raft of ETFs to physical replication in such a short timeframe is unprecedented, but the uptick in demand we’ve registered in the first quarter demonstrates that this was the correct strategy.”


WisdomTree unveils currency-hedged Japanese equity sector ETFs

Apr 17th, 2014 | By
Nikko launches yen-hedged DJIA ETF in Japan

WisdomTree, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds, has unveiled a suite of ETFs designed to provide exposure to various sectors of the Japanese equity market while hedging the dollar/yen exchange rate. The funds, listed on the NYSE Arca, have been launched to enable investors to better to capitalise on three investment themes identified by WisdomTree’s research team to stem from ‘Abenomics’, namely the economic policies advocated by Shinzō Abe, prime minister of Japan since his election in December 2012.


Direxion launches triple leveraged long and short gold ETFs

Apr 17th, 2014 | By
Investors withdraw from gold ETFs in June

Direxion, a provider of short and leveraged exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch of two ETFs offering triple leveraged long and short exposure to gold. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the Direxion Daily Gold Bull 3X Shares (GLDL) and Direxion Daily Gold Bear 3X Shares (GLDS) seek to deliver 300 percent of the daily performance or 300 percent of the inverse of the daily performance, respectively, of Comex Gold Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.


UK equities main focus for ETF investors, reveals Barclays Stockbrokers

Apr 17th, 2014 | By
Amundi launches UK SRI equity ETF

The latest data from Barclays Stockbrokers, a UK-based execution-only broker, reveals ongoing retail client interest in UK focused exchange-traded funds during the 2013/2014 tax year end period, with 70 per cent of the top purchased ETFs in an ISA for Q1 2014 having a UK focus. The iShares FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (Inc) (ISF) was the top purchased ETF by Barclays Stockbrokers’ ISA clients, followed by the iShares FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (MIDD) in second place and the ETFS FTSE 100 Leveraged (Daily 2x) GO UCITS ETF (LUK2) from ETF Securities in third.


Ossiam, CSI partner to develop minimum variance China A-shares index

Apr 15th, 2014 | By
Bruno Poulin, CEO of Ossiam.

Ossiam, a Paris-based provider of smart beta ETFs, has announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with China Securities Index Company (CSI), a leading Shanghai-based index provider, to develop a minimum variance version of CSI’s widely followed CSI 300 Index. Bruno Poulin, chief executive of Ossiam, said: “We are delighted to work with CSI on this exciting project. As the first asset manager in the world to launch minimum variance ETFs in 2011, we have a track record that strongly backs our approach.”


ETF Securities enters indexing space with launch of ETFS Indices

Apr 14th, 2014 | By
ETF Securities enters indexing space with launch of ETFS Indices

ETF Securities, the exchange-traded products provider and commodities specialist, has entered the competitive world of financial market indexing with the launch of ETFS Indices. Led by Dan Raab, the unit will design and publish liquid and replicable futures-based indices. ETFS Indices’ debut line-up includes two enhanced commodity long-only indices and two commodity long/short indices. The indices are formulated with a goal of having low correlations to traditional asset classes while providing relatively strong reward vs. risk ratios.


Horizons ETFs’ actively managed funds surpass C$2 billion in assets

Apr 14th, 2014 | By
Horizons ETFs introduces Canada's first swap-based bond index ETF

Horizons ETFs, a Toronto-based provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced that its family of actively managed funds has reached C$2 billion in assets under management. Horizons offers 28 active ETFs managed by various portfolio managers, who aim to deliver better risk-adjusted returns than the broader markets they invest in or reference. This is unlike passive or index-tracking ETFs, also offered by the provider, which seek to replicate the returns of benchmark indices.


Source and CSOP cross-list China A-shares ETF on SIX Swiss Exchange

Apr 9th, 2014 | By
T3 Index unveils 'E8' emerging markets foreign exchange benchmark

Source, a London-headquartered provider of exchange-traded funds, and CSOP Asset Management, a Hong Kong-based asset manager, have cross-listed the CSOP Source FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF (CHNA) on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The ETF, which made its debut in January on the London Stock Exchange, was the first in Europe to offer direct physical exposure to the China A-shares market. Since its launch, the fund has gathered more than $240m in assets on the back of strong demand from investors.