Speaking at a conference earlier this week, Larry Fink, chief executive and chairman of BlackRock, the parent of iShares, argued that leveraged exchange-traded products represent “a structural problem that could blow up the whole industry one day”. He also asserted that iShares, the world’s largest provider of ETFs, “would never do a leveraged ETF”. His views, however, have not gone down well with all ETP industry participants, least of all with the providers of such products, which include major companies such as ProShares, Direxion and Boost ETP, a subsidiary of WisdomTree.

London-based ETF provider Source and Hong Kong-based CSOP Asset Management have introduced a euro trading line for their recently launched China A-shares ETF, the CSOP Source FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF. Listed on the Deutsche Börse (Xetra), the newly listed euro trading line allows euro-denominated investors to buy and sell the fund, which is linked to the FTSE China A50 Index and provides physical exposure to large-cap Chinese equities, in their local currency via the ticker SMLC.

Morningstar Asia has published a new research report which examines the factors that influence the tracking efficiency of Chinese equity ETFs. Authored by Morningstar’s global passive strategies research team, the report examines 33 ETFs listed in markets around the world that track five major Chinese equity indices. According to Jackie Choy, ETF strategist for Morningstar Asia, “[the] study shows that ETF providers need to continue improving the transparency and accuracy of disclosures around performance, so that investors can have the research and information they need to make more informed decisions.”

With ‘mutual recognition’ of investment products between Hong Kong S.A.R. and the People’s Republic of China set to transform these markets, Rex Wong, Managing Director within BNY Mellon’s Asia Asset Servicing business, describes the market infrastructure, product developments and aspects of investor education that are needed to bring about the full potential of mutual recognition for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) has expanded its range of “core” ETFs with the launch of a physically replicated exchange-traded fund tracking the MSCI USA Index. Listed on the Deutsche Börse, the db x-trackers MSCI USA Index UCITS ETF (DR) (XD9U) provides exposure to the US large and mid-cap equities market. Simon Klein, DeAWM’s Head of Exchange Traded Product Sales, EMEA and Asia, said: “Our new ETF tracking the MSCI USA Index for a fee of just nine basis points has already attracted over $200 million in investment prior to listing.”

WisdomTree Investments, the exchange-traded fund sponsor which recently acquired London-based Boost ETP, has announced that ten of its ETFs now have more than $1 billion in assets under management. The most recent ETF to reach the billion-dollar milestone is the WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI), which made its debut on NYSE Arca in February 2008. Recent asset growth in this particular fund has primarily been driven by strong market performance, with broad-market Indian equities up around 20% year to date.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has unveiled the S&P Colombia Select Index, an index tracking the performance of the largest and most liquid stocks domiciled in Colombia. The index uses a modified market capitalization weighting scheme, providing investors with a broad, yet replicable index covering the Colombian equity market. The index will soon be available to Colombian investors in investable format, following its licensing to Horizons ETFs’ Latin American operation to serve as the basis for an exchange-traded fund.

ERI Scientific Beta, the smart beta indexing initiative spun out off EDHEC-Risk Institute, has announced the launch of the SciBeta Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy Indices. The indices address two limitations of market capitalisation-weighted indices, namely ill-suited exposures to systematic risk factors and excessive concentration in a small number of stocks. Noël Amenc, CEO of ERI Scientific Beta, said: “Multi-beta multi-strategy indices allow equity investors to expand their opportunity set beyond the standard equity premium. These indices of indices are effective entry points for asset owners who wish to dispose of a robust and proven asset allocation solution.”

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) has teamed up again with Hong Kong-based Harvest Global Investments, this time to launch the db X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF (ASHS), the first US-listed exchange-traded fund to provide investors with direct access to small-cap China A-shares equities. Jerry Miller, Head of DeAWM in the Americas, said: “Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management continues to break ground with its passive offerings, as evidenced by the latest ETF to provide access to a new and attractive segment of the Chinese equity market.”

ETF Securities, a London-headquartered provider of exchange-traded funds, has unveiled an ETF enabling investors to capitalise on the US energy boom. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse (Xetra), the ETFS US Energy Infrastructure MLP GO UCITS ETF (MLPX) invests solely in master limited partnerships (MLPs) that are defined as infrastructure MLPs. It is linked to the newly launched Solactive US Energy Infrastructure MLP Index TR, an index from index boutique Solactive which tracks the performance of 25 high-yielding infrastructure MLPs with market capitalisations over $500 million.