S&P Dow Jones Indices, a leading provider of financial market indices, has launched two new indices over the past month tracking the performance of US real estate investment trusts (REITs). The indices, which have been rolled out under the group’s Dow Jones brand, are the Dow Jones US Select Equal Weight REIT Index and the Dow Jones Townsend Core US REIT Index.

All the talk lately has been about whether we’re nearing the end of the bond bull market. However, Fran Rodilosso, a fixed income portfolio manager at Market Vectors ETFs, reckons that while investors need to accept that many traditional fixed income investments are unlikely to deliver the same types of returns as in 2012, there are still great opportunities to find if investors look in the right places. Emerging markets local debt is one of these places, according to Rodilosso.

Following last year’s correction in rough diamond prices, there is now limited downside in diamond-related equities and plenty of reasons to be bullish, most notably increasing Asia demand. That’s the view of Nomura, the investment bank, which recently initiated on the diamond sector with a report entitled, ‘A long-term story that is ready to sparkle’. Since the launch of the PureFunds ISE Diamond/Gemstone ETF (GEMS) on the NYSE Arca in November last year, investors can access this sector in pure-play form in one simple trade.

The European luxury goods sector has risen strongly in the last three months, driven by a discernible improvement in sentiment, most notably in Asia following a smooth transition of leadership in China. The MSCI Europe Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods Index has gained 21.5% while the broader MSCI Europe Consumer Discretionary Index, which also includes Europe’s high-end automobile manufacturers, an important luxury segment, has added 14.1%. This latter index, which is brimming full of luxury brands, is accessible to investors via a number of ETFs.

BlackRock, owner of the iShares family of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has reported record earnings on the back of surging inflows and soaring assets under management. The company’s iShares division was the stand-out performer. Globally, BlackRock attracted $47.0 billion in net inflows in the fourth quarter of 2012, of which over 75 per cent, or $35.7 billion, was contributed by iShares. Over the full year, the asset manager added $107.7 billion in net inflows with almost 80 percent, or $85.3 billion, coming from iShares.

Morningstar Indexes has launched the Morningstar US Real Asset Index, a diversified index portfolio of liquid assets that traditionally provide a hedge against inflation. The index, which includes exposure to Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and commodity-based stocks and futures, could help investors control their exposure to inflation.

Global index provider Stoxx has introduced the ‘Dynamic VSTOXX Indices’, a new series of strategy indices designed to provide enhanced exposure to European equity market volatility. The new indices seek to exploit opportunities that present themselves in the forward curve of European equity volatility futures. Essentially, the indices aim to capitalise on the superior performance of short-term futures during stressed market environments and of mid-term futures in more normal market environments.

Global X Funds, a New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the Global X Junior MLP ETF (MLPJ). The new ETF is the first to specifically target the small-cap segment of the booming MLP market. The fund is benchmarked to the Solactive Junior MLP Index, an index measuring the performance of US-listed energy and resource MLPs (or Master Limited Partnerships) with a market capitalisation of between $200 million and $2.5 billion.

Toronto-based Horizons ETFs and its affiliate AlphaPro Management have added the Horizons Active S&P/TSX 60 Index Covered Call ETF (HAX) to their growing line-up of active covered call exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This latest fund, which uses a covered call options strategy on stocks within the S&P/TSX 60 Index, aims to provide investors with exposure to Canadian large-caps with mitigated downside risk and monthly distributions of dividend and call option income.

Invesco PowerShares’ suite of ‘DWA Technical Leaders’ exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw assets grow by 50% in 2012, passing through the $1 billion milestone. Asset growth was driven by a combination of inflows and strong performance. The ETFs, which are based on the Dorsey Wright & Associates (DWA) relative strength index methodology, were among the first factor-driven ETFs available in the US marketplace.