iShares has revealed that UK financial advisers continued to increase their use of ETFs on wrap platforms in Q1 2013, with the amount of iShares’ assets held on major platforms reaching £985m, an increase of 16% on Q4 2012.

Pollyanna Harper, Head of Intermediary Sales UK at iShares, said: “In the three months since the implementation of the RDR, we’re encouraged to see a steady increase in the amount of assets advisers are holding in ETFs through platforms. Advisers and investors are becoming more aware of what ETFs are and the benefits they can offer”.

Vanguard has expanded its European suite of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the launch of four new funds on the London Stock Exchange. The new ETFs complement the firm’s existing London-listed line-up, which debuted in May 2012. Axel Lomholt, Vanguard’s Head of International Product Development, said: “In the US, Vanguard has been very successful in this area, gathering nearly $290 billion of assets since its first ETF launch in 2001. We think that the same low-cost, straightforward approach will prove equally popular in Europe”.

By David Stevenson – Despite all the grim news surrounding gold, I find myself looking afresh at gold mining equity funds and wondering whether now is the time to start quietly increasing my exposure. In essence, investors face two equally dismal choices. Do they focus on investing with an active fund manager who will “know” which miners to back or do they invest in a passive ETF? The second equally lethal choice is whether they should back larger lower-cost miners or junior miners where the rewards could be huge?

FTSE Group, a London-based global index provider, has revealed that assets under management in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Series have surpassed $10 billion. The index series is one of the most widely followed gauges of property and real estate investment trust (REIT) performance and has been adopted by numerous ETF sponsors, including iShares, Lyxor, Deutsche Bank and First Trust.

China’s first cross-border exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Guotai Nasdaq-100 ETF (513100), has begun trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The fund is linked to the Nasdaq-100 Index and is sponsored by Guotai Asset Management, one of the longest-established fund management companies in China. The fund’s launch represents a significant development for the burgeoning exchange-traded product market in China.

Asset class performance has been very mixed so far this year with currency volatility re-awakened and softening global economic data suggesting more difficult times ahead, according to Stephen Cohen, Head of iShares EMEA Investment Strategy & Insight. So what can investors do? Cohen proposes four strategies: overweighting defensive equities and equity income; using developed market equities to access emerging markets; playing Japan via a currency-hedged solution; and mitigating interest rate risk in fixed income and looking at local currency emerging markets debt.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has approved BATS Global Markets’ application for its BATS Chi-X Europe platform to be granted Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) status. The new status, which takes effect on 20 May 2013, means BATS will be able to compete against mainstream European exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Borse, for primary listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Standard Life recently revealed plans to enhance its wrap platform aimed at UK financial advisers. One of the key upgrades scheduled over the next 12 months is to deliver improved access to exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The move to enhance access to ETFs is reflective of the growing interest in the product since the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).

Indexing investment giant Vanguard has launched its intermediary business in Hong Kong and revealed plans to expand access to its products to investors throughout Asia. The firm is also set to announce the listing of its first locally domiciled exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Vanguard FTSE Asia ex-Japan Index ETF, in Hong Kong. Vanguard is the third-largest global ETF provider, with $280 billion in ETF assets.

iShares, the exchange traded funds (ETF) platform of BlackRock, has announced the expansion of its European-listed corporate bond suite with the launch of the iShares Barclays Euro Corporate Bond Financials UCITS ETF (EUCF) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The new ETF provides focused exposure to financial issuers such as banks. Stephen Cohen, Head of Investment Strategy and Insight EMEA at iShares, said: “The new fund provides targeted exposure to this important segment of the bond market in a single trade.”