Aviva Investors, one of the largest managers of real estate in the UK and Europe, argues that returns in the real estate market this year will come from focusing on quality assets that provide secure income streams and are low in risk. “While some challenges remain for 2012, on the whole we expect the relatively low risk qualities of real estate (compared to other risk assets) will bring resilience to the sector should investor sentiment deteriorate,” says Ian Womack, Chief Executive for Real Estate at Aviva Investors.

Private wealth manager SCM Private and Deutsche Bank’s ETF platform db X-trackers have teamed up to launch an actively managed multi-asset ETF that offers exposure to a portfolio of db X-trackers ETFs and ETCs. The ETF allows investors to reap the benefits of a multi-asset fund of funds with the advantages of liquidity, transparency, performance and low cost that ETFs typically deliver.

Alpcot Capital Management, a leading asset manager focused on investing in Eastern Europe, has announced the launch of Europe’s first actively managed equity ETF. The physically-backed Alpcot Active Greater Russia ETF aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investing in the securities of issuers based in the ‘Greater Russia’ region, i.e. Russia and other CIS region states. The fund combines active management of its holdings with the liquidity, transparency and tradability benefits of an ETF.

iShares has seen its assets held on wrap platforms increase dramatically since 2010. This comes as financial advisers’ understanding of the benefits of implementing investment strategies via ETFs continues to grow. With the introduction of RDR, “ETFs will be on a level playing field with other investment products. This, combined with the fact that ETFs offer low cost and transparent access to a broad range of markets, means that ETF use amongst financial advisers is likely to continue to rise,” says David Bower, Head of iShares UK.

US Bancorp has launched a multiple-series trust for ETFs, a development that promises to make it easier for new ETFs to come to market. Currently, it can take a year or more to steer an ETF from the idea stage to actual listing. In its quest to reduce this time, US Bancorp has partnered with Exchange Traded Concepts, one of the companies that have been granted so-called passive exemptive relief from the SEC to launch funds with fewer regulatory hoops to jump through.

As last month’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing from iconic US photographic film company Kodak goes to show, being a global household name is no guarantee of future success. With this in mind, Jason Hollands, Director at F&C Investments, believes investors should look beyond large caps: “While there are undoubtedly some great businesses in the FTSE 100, investors should look at funds which have the freedom to invest in mid‐caps and smaller companies. Some of these will become the giants of tomorrow.”

Interdealer broker Traditon and investment bank Nomura have teamed up to launch a new fully electronic multilateral trading platform designed to enhance the way ETFs are traded. The platform, called Navesis-ETF, is a joint venture between the two companies and combines Tradition’s experience in over-the-counter trading with Nomura’s insight as a leading ETF market maker and authorised participant. The platform has been designed to increase transparency and efficiency, boost market liquidity and reduce costs.

CBOE Holdings has announced that the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CBOE Futures Exchange will launch two new ETF-based volatility index products in the coming weeks: the CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index security futures (VXEW) and the CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index options (VXEWZ). The calculation of the CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index is derived from applying CBOE’s VIX methodology to the prices of CBOE listed options on the iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF.

Paris-based Lyxor has launched a family of ETFs tracking US S&P 500 equity sectors. The funds have been listed on Euronext in Paris and employ a 20% cap-weighting in order to comply with UCITS rules. Aimed at European investors, the funds compete directly with London-based Source’s comparable range of ETFs, which, like Lyxor’s, are based on S&P Select Sector Capped 20% Indices. The Lyxor funds come with a total expense ratio of just 0.20%.

The blitz of new ETFs hitting the market shows no sign of letting up. The latest launch – seven US listed funds from iShares – includes the first fixed income ETFs to target specific sectors and grades of corporate credit quality. Indeed, the new funds represent a number of “firsts.” iShares is offering the first fixed income ETFs that provide exposure to specific industry sectors, certain sectors within the mortgage-backed securities marketplace and high credit quality corporate bonds.