Archive for August 2015

Van Eck to manage and rebrand Yorkville high income MLP ETFs

Aug 12th, 2015 | By
Van Eck to manage high income MLP ETFs

Van Eck Global, the asset manager behind the Market Vectors brand of ETFs, has entered into an agreement with Yorkville ETF Advisers to reorganise two Yorkville master limited partnership (MLP) ETFs under the Market Vectors umbrella. Jan van Eck, CEO of Van Eck Global, said: “MLPs are an important segment of the energy market. The attractive yield characteristics of MLPs make these ETFs a natural extension of our focus on income-oriented investing and we’re excited to make this asset class available to investors.”


iShares plans currency-hedged smart beta ETFs in US

Aug 12th, 2015 | By
iShares expands fixed income range with high yield ETF

iShares, the exchange-traded fund division of asset manager BlackRock, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US detailing plans to launch five currency-hedged smart beta equity ETFs. Once launched, this would take their suite of currency-hedged ETFs in the US to 21. All of the new funds will be based upon existing ETFs but will layer currency protection over the initial methodology. Four of the new ETFs will apply currency hedges to funds that target the minimum volatility factor, while the fifth will target firms with smaller size.


Greek crisis prompts strong flows into gilt ETFs in 2015

Aug 11th, 2015 | By
BOE announces dovish rate hike

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking UK government bonds have been in demand in 2015, pulling in inflows of £552m thus far this year, as investors sought to re-allocate into safer, non-euro-denominated assets amidst the ongoing debt crisis in Greece. “Remaining separate from the euro has insulated the UK from the turmoil in Europe, so gilt yields have been less volatile,” said Adam Laird, passive-investment manager at UK financial-services company Hargreaves Lansdown.


Fee changes for financial advice in the UK should favour ETFs

Aug 11th, 2015 | By
WisdomTree launches technology platform aimed at financial advisors

As the April 2016 deadline approaches for the cessation of trailing commissions, UK investment advisory firms have made significant steps forward in moving their clients to clearly stated fees, according to research from Fidelity’s UK investment platform, FundsNetwork. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) put an end to trailing commissions on new business April 2014. The two-year grace period on legacy business comes to an end as of April 2016 and ushers in a new era of investment management which emphasises fee transparency and should favour low-cost investment vehicles such as ETFs.


ProShares makes case for interest rate-hedged bond ETFs

Aug 11th, 2015 | By
Federated Hermes enters the ETF arena

The Federal Reserve is under constant watch with market participants attempting to predict the timing of the next increase in the Federal funds rate. When the hike does occur there will undoubtedly be a significant impact on asset prices around the world, most notably a direct decrease in the value of fixed income exchange-traded funds. This is due to the inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices. Duration is commonly used to measure the effect of this; however, the measure does suffer from a limitation as it guides the investor to the size of a fall in bond prices for a uniform upwards shift of interest rates at all points along the yield curve, which is historically unlikely. ProShares, a US-based ETF provider, highlights the impact of this in a recent research paper and draws attention to interest-rate hedged ETFs designed to mitigate it.


S&P DJI unveils strategy indices tracking spin-offs, IPOs and activist interest

Aug 10th, 2015 | By
S&P DJI launch indices tracking spin-offs, IPOs and activist interest

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) has announced the launch of three event-driven indices: the S&P US Spin-Off Index, the S&P US IPO Index & Spin-Off Index and the S&P US Activist Interest Index. Commenting on the launch, Vinit Srivastava, Senior Director of Strategy Indices at S&P DJI, said: “Historically, spin-offs, IPOs and firms targeted by activist investors have generally outperformed the broad market as they uncover value and increase efficiencies. These three new indices, in addition to our existing S&P Merger Arbitrage Index, provide investors sophisticated and transparent benchmarks that reflect how these significant events impact a company’s performance.”


Deutsche AWM’s ETF business breaks through $20bn AUM milestone in US

Aug 10th, 2015 | By
Deutsche AWM’s ETF business breaks through $20bn AUM milestone in US

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (Deutsche AWM) has announced that their US ETF platform has surpassed $20bn in assets under management, pushing them into the top 10 rankings of ETF providers in the US by market share. Net inflows have soared by 365% year-to-date, establishing the German investment firm as one of the fastest-growing ETF franchises in the US. “We are extremely proud of reaching this important milestone,” said Jerry Miller, Head of Deutsche AWM in the Americas. “In just two years, we have taken our platform from under $500m to $20bn in assets under management, proving our commitment to delivering innovative investment strategies to our clients and the opportunity that lies ahead of us.”


Manufacturing recovery boosts European industrials ETFs

Aug 10th, 2015 | By
Strong PMI scores signal continued growth of European industrials ETFs

European industrials ETFs have performed strongly this year as a gradual manufacturing recovery in Europe plus the effects of quantitative easing continue to impact positively on security prices. The iShares Stoxx Europe 600 Industrial Goods & Services UCITS ETF (EXH4), SPDR MSCI Europe Industrials UCITS ETF (NDUS) and Amundi MSCI Europe Industrials UCITS ETF (AIND) are all up about 17% year-to-date. Recent surveys of purchasing managers suggest a continued confidence in the sector.


Newfleet launches multi-sector unconstrained bond ETF

Aug 10th, 2015 | By
Newfleet launches multi-sector unconstrained bond ETF

Newfleet Asset Management, a US-based investment advisor and affiliate of Virtus Investment Partners, has entered the exchange-traded fund space with the launch of an actively managed multi-sector bond ETF. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Unconstrained Bond ETF (NFLT) aims to deliver a high level of current income while also pursuing capital appreciation.


Pace of ETF asset growth at record high

Aug 7th, 2015 | By
Globally-listed ETFs/ETPs gathered over $370bn in net new assets during 2015, according to ETFGI

The popularisation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) continues as global assets under management achieve record levels of growth, expanding 21% faster than previous years, according to data from ETF consultancy ETFGI. Global net inflows amounted to $199bn in the first seven months of the year, well above the $164bn gathered for the same period last year. Equity ETFs have seen the strongest demand this year, growing net new assets by $137bn year-to-date. “Although investors faced uncertainty in China and Greece during July they continued to invest significant net new assets in equity ETFs”, said Deborah Fuhr, managing partner of ETFGI.