FlexShares, sponsored and managed by Northern Trust, has launched its first actively managed ETF, the FlexShares Ready Access Variable Income ETF (RAVI). Designed for liquidity-focused investors seeking higher yields, the cash management fund has a variable net asset value (NAV) and can invest beyond the limits of traditional money market funds.

Dividend net increases were $8.8 billion in the third quarter of 2012, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, setting what is believed to be a new record dividend quarterly payout for US common stocks. “Dividends continue to have a great year, with actual cash payments increasing over 19% and the forward indicated dividend rate reaching a new all-time high,” said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. This bodes well for high-dividend ETFs, which have proved popular with investors this year.

Gold equities have rallied 18% in the past three months. Despite this, gold equities remain nearly 10% down year on year. However, according to investment bank Nomura, “increasingly compelling gold demand dynamics” provide “rationale for further outperformance in the gold equities”. For investors looking to access gold equities, gold miner exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provide a quick, cheap and efficient method to gain exposure to the sector.

SPDR ETFs, the exchange-traded funds (ETF) platform of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has announced the launch of the SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (USLV), the first ETF in Europe to track the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the physically-backed fund tracks the low-vol version of S&P’s flagship S&P 500 index, providing investors with access to a diversified portfolio of US blue-chip stocks that have historically exhibited lower volatility and reduced downside risk.

Assets in commodity ETPs rose to an all-time high of $207 billion in the third quarter (Q3) of 2012, a rise of $31 billion, on the back of surging demand for gold ETPs, as aggressive moves by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy increased investor demand for hedges against further currency debasement.

STOXX has announced the launch of the STOXX Europe Low Risk Weighted 100 Index. The index represents a hypothetical investment portfolio that selects the 100 constituents of the STOXX Europe 600 Index with the lowest volatility. The index is designed to act both as a benchmark for actively managed funds and as an underlying to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investable products.

FTSE and Cürex Group have announced the expansion of the FTSE Cürex FX Index Series with the addition of seven new streaming benchmark currency pairs, enabling investors to trade Offshore Renminbi (CNH) against seven major currencies at an independently calculated benchmark rate. The expansion of the index series comes at a time when the Chinese currency is gaining importance globally.

BlackRock’s iShares has announced the launch of the iShares Global Government AAA-AA Capped Bond Fund (SAAA), the first ETF to offer global AAA/AA-rated government bond exposure. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the fund is physically replicated and comes with a total expense ratio of just 0.20%. By targeting AAA/AA-rated debt, the fund will likely appeal to investors who are increasingly concerned with government bond risk, particularly in the Eurozone, and are searching for high-quality government debt with global diversification.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are “here to stay,” according to 81 percent of respondents to the 2012 ETF Investor Study by Charles Schwab, but the need for education persists, with 45 percent of respondents still calling themselves novices when it comes to understanding these products.

Vanguard is to change the target benchmarks of 22 index funds, including their exchange-traded fund (ETF) share classes. The change will include six international stock funds, which will transition to FTSE benchmarks, and 16 US stock and balanced funds, which will transition to new benchmarks developed by the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP). The impacted funds account for $537 billion in assets, of which $131 billion is invested in ETFs. All are currently benchmarked to MSCI indices.