Dividend net increases were $12.0 billion in the second quarter of 2012, setting what is believed to be a new record dividend payout in aggregate dollars for US domestic listed common stocks. “Dividends are back in style with investors looking for yields during a time when companies can afford to give more and want to satisfy shareholders – all of which makes for a very positive outlook for dividends,” said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Southeast Asia is a rising star of the global market, led by its five fastest-growing countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to a report by PwC. “Economic, political, and market factors, combined with a landscape more focused now than ever on attracting capital and development, have converged to create a mature environment ripe with opportunity”, the report says. We profile over a dozen ETFs offering exposure to the region.

Indexing giants S&P Indices and Dow Jones Indexes have now formally combined to create S&P Dow Jones Indices. The McGraw-Hill Companies, owner of S&P Indices, and CME Group, the major shareholder in Dow Jones Indexes, have announced the completion of the deal that was first confirmed back in November last year, namely a joint venture between the companies’ two indexing divisions. The combined S&P Dow Jones Indices calculates over 830,000 indices and publishes benchmarks that provide the basis for 575 ETFs globally with $387 billion in assets invested.

Cushing MLP Asset Management has announced the launch of the Cushing Royalty Trust and Upstream Income Index (Cushing Royalty Index) (CRTY). The Cushing Royalty Index has been launched to provide a benchmark that tracks the performance of publicly traded US royalty trusts and upstream exploration and production (E&P) energy MLPs. The index has been designed for use by Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), including ETFs and ETNs, as well as mutual funds and asset managers.

With PEs below their long-term average, small-cap valuations are currently attractive on both an absolute and relative basis, according to analysis by Threadneedle Investments. Moreover, small-caps have delivered superior risk-adjusted returns over many periods. Investors can access this opportunity via small-cap ETFs such as the iShares S&P SmallCap 600 ETF, the STOXX Europe Small 200 Source ETF and the SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF.

Pimco and Source have teamed up once again to launch the Pimco German Government Bond Index Source ETF (BUND). The fund has been listed on the Deutsche Börse (Xetra) and aims to track the Markit iBoxx € Germany Index. In the current market uncertainty, many investors are seeking efficient ways to quickly switch between “risk-on” and “risk-off” positions. BUND helps achieve this by providing exposure to the German government bond market, a perceived safe haven during periods of “risk off”.

UBS has built on its position as one of the leading and fastest-growing ETF providers in Europe by rolling out a comprehensive range of ETFs on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The range includes access to 66 ETF share classes, replicating 40 indices across equities, fixed income and alternatives. Clemens Reuter, Head of UBS ETFs, said: “The London listing reinforces our commitment to the UK market and brings UBS’s wide range of ETFs to this important financial centre.”

Deutsche Bank has expanded its sterling-hedged ETF range with the launch of the DB X-trackers MSCI Japan TRN Index ETF (XMJG) and the DB X-trackers S&P 500 ETF (XSPG) on the London Stock Exchange. “With these new ETFs investors get an automatic in-built hedge that aims to minimise the impact of currency movements on their equity investment,” said Manooj Mistry, head of DB X-trackers for the UK.

S&P Capital IQ Fund Research has launched its first grading methodology for ETFs and other passive funds. The new qualitative methodology will assign a Platinum, Gold or Silver grading to the best passively-managed ETFs and index tracker funds. Actively-managed ETFs will be graded under the long-standing active fund grading methodology.

Sabrient Systems, an independent equity research firm, and Thomson Reuters, a leading financial information provider, have collaborated to create two alpha-generating, low-volatility equity indices. The indices, the Thomson Reuters/Sabrient Sensible Growth Low Volatility Index, a long/short index, and the Thomson Reuters/Sabrient Sensible Growth Index, a long index, have been designed with ETFs in mind.