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”.

Source, a London-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the Source Morningstar US Energy Infrastructure MLP UCITS ETF on the London Stock Exchange. The ETF is linked to the Morningstar MLP Composite Index and is the first in Europe to offer dedicated exposure to US energy infrastructure Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), which are booming as a result of the development of unconventional energy sources such as shale gas, tight oil and tar sands.

By David Stevenson – Why are so few investors currently buying into consumer staples sector ETFs? I realise that this isn’t exactly one of those raging questions that ranks up there alongside “should we dump Europe?” and “why, oh, why are most of the singers on The Voice so bloody awful?”, but for investors I think the question really, really matters. To understand why I’m so nonplussed, let’s rewind the investment debate and establish some basic principles. The first and most basic principle is that investors worldwide are fearful about macro risk.

David Stevenson has joined ETF Strategy as a weekly columnist. David is the author of the popular Financial Times Guide to Exchange Traded Funds and Index Funds and writes for the FT, Investors Chronicle and Investment Week. “I’m really excited to be writing a regular weekly column for ETF Strategy – in a very short period of time this online publication has established itself as the best source of analysis and research for investors who use ETFs here in Europe. Over the next year I can guarantee you that there’ll be many more developments at ETF Strategy, so watch this space!”, said Stevenson. In his debut column he considers European equity ETFs.

Eaton Vance is seeking authorisation to launch a family of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The funds, which Eaton Vance calls exchange-traded managed funds, or ETMFs, are designed to bring the cost and tax efficiencies and shareholder protections of ETFs to active investment strategies, while maintaining the confidentiality of current portfolio trading information. If approved, the proposed fund structure could provide a template for the widespread roll-out of active ETFs, which, until now, have been slow to gain traction.

Contrary to recent forecasts predicting the end of the gold bull market, Graham Tuckwell, Founder and Chairman of ETF Securities, believes untapped demand from China and India, and retail investors, will lead to a second decade of growth for the gold market. Ten years on since Tuckwell launched the world’s first physical gold exchange-traded product in Australia, similar products are now listed on 31 exchanges throughout the world and have seen assets under management reach $147 billion.

Fund managers are increasingly confident in the outlook for the dollar, according to the latest BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey. This month registered the highest level of dollar bullishness in the survey’s history with a net 72% of respondents expecting the US currency to appreciate over the next year. The overwhelming bullishness for the dollar bodes well for exchange-traded funds offering long exposure to the currency, such as the Pimco US Dollar Short Maturity Source ETF (MINT).

Source has announced that the Pimco Short-Term High Yield Corporate Bond Index Source ETF has been listed in GBP on the London Stock Exchange. The new listing complements the existing USD trading line and provides GBP-denominated investors with easy access to this Pimco-managed fixed income strategy. The fund physically tracks the performance of the BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year US High Yield Constrained Index, offering investors an attractive level of income with mitigated interest rate risk.

Source has announced that Deutsche Bank’s DBLCI OY Balanced commodities index has met the criteria for inclusion in the LGIM Commodity Composite Index, an index of indices devised by Legal & General Investment Management. The LGIM Commodity Composite Index is the underlying index of the LGIM Commodity Composite Source ETF (LGCU), a London-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to represent the collective performance of a wide range of commodities in a cost-effective UCITS format.

While the US dollar is still the primary global currency, its long-term dominance is less certain, according to a report by the World Gold Council. With the dollar in apparent secular decline, central banks are reducing allocations to the currency while increasing purchases of traditional assets, such as gold. Investors looking to follow suit can access gold via physical ETPs, which combine the advantages of physical ownership with the liquidity, transparency and ease of execution typical of an ETF.