A joint venture designed to promote greater availability of Chinese financial instruments, including exchange-traded funds, to European investors is scheduled to begin trading operations on 18 November 2015. Securities trading on the exchange will be renminbi (RMB)-denominated, helping to support the internationalisation of the currency while also addressing the growing demand for offshore RMB products. Ownership in the new company, the China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX), is divided between its three participants, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (40%), the China Financial Futures Exchange (20%), and Deutsche Borse (40%).

Vanguard Asset Management, a leading provider of index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, has attracted new assets in all three quarters of the year thus far, solidifying their place as the world’s second largest ETF provider, behind iShares, a position they took from State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) at the start of the year. The gap between the two providers has widened to over $50bn, with Vanguard’s AUM at $445bn compared to SSGA’s $390bn.

ETF Managers Group, a white-label services provider to the exchange-traded funds industry, has launched the first ETF to focus exclusively on restaurants (NASDAQ: BITE). The fund aims to track the BITE Index which has been created by investment firm Big Tree Capital to track the performance of the world’s most recognisable and iconic restaurant brands. “The average American household spends over $2,600 a year at restaurants. BITE gives investors the ability to literally ‘put their money where their mouth is,’ allowing them to invest in conjunction with their own spending habits,” said Kevin Carter, Founder and CEO of Big Tree Capital and the creator and owner of The BITE Index.

Purpose Investments, a Toronto-based asset manager, has announced the launch of the Purpose Tactical Investment Grade Bond ETF (BND) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The exchange-traded fund is actively managed, offering a yield maximisation strategy while also seeking to control risk through careful management of portfolio duration. Som Seif, President and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Investments, commented: “With the Purpose Tactical Investment Grade Bond ETF we are focused on enhancing the return opportunities in bonds while reducing the amount of interest rate risk. The result should be a better reward per unit of risk in a bond portfolio.”

Van Eck Global, the asset management firm behind the Market Vectors range of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch on the London Stock Exchange of the Market Vectors Morningstar US Wide Moat UCITS ETF (MOAT LN). The engine behind the fund is a proprietary model designed by Morningstar that selects firms considered to possess ‘wide moats’ – a significant structural competitive advantage that has the potential to provide long-term above-average returns. The term ‘economic moat’ was coined by Warren Buffett and can refer to brand loyalty, cost advantages, economies of scale, or regulatory protection, among others, as potential avenues whereby firms establish a strong market position.

State Street Global Advisors has launched the SPDR MSCI China A Shares IMI ETF (XINA). The fund tracks the MSCI China A International IMI Index which offers a broad exposure to almost 1,800 renminbi-denominated, domestically-listed Chinese shares. “Given that China is both the second largest economy and the second largest equity market in the world, we feel it’s important to have exposure in your portfolio,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors’ US intermediary business. “Broader exposure, with the benefits of diversification may be valuable in the long-term as these market developments create potentially long-term investment opportunities for A-shares even as short-term volatility may remain high.”

Commerzbank, the German bank behind the ComStage range of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch of a family of investable indices based on fund flow data from EPFR, a leading fund flow and asset allocation provider. Covering multiple asset classes including equities, commodities, fixed income and multi-asset, the indices track systematic strategies that utilise the predictive power of fund flow data to make asset allocation decisions. Their systematic nature means they can also be used as the basis for index-linked products such as exchange-traded funds.

The benefits of exchange-traded funds over the traditional mutual fund structure have driven the growth of these investment products over past decades. As adoption increases investors must be aware of the true cost of ETF investing. To facilitate this experts from Pershing and BNY Mellon have delivered a white paper outlining what investors need to assess when buying an ETF. “It is important for advisors to be as well informed as possible about the apparent and underlying factors that influence the cost of their ownership,” said Justin Fay, vice president and solutions manager for alternative investments and ETFs at Pershing.

Due to the rapid expansion of the Shariah financial industry over the past 30 years, providers are increasingly looking to develop more sophisticated solutions aimed at Islamic investors. The development of the S&P Pan Arab Composite Shariah Dividend Index marks another step in the maturing of these markets. “The new indices represent an important expansion of the S&P Pan Arab Indices as the region seeks more specialized indices. The Pan Arab market is dynamic and growing, and S&P Dow Jones Indices will continue to bring innovative indices to cater to the region’s needs,” said Alka Banerjee, Managing Director, Global Equity Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Etho Capital, the US-based sustainable investment manager, has launched the Etho Climate Leadership Index (ECLI), a diversified index that is divested from fossil fuels and focused on climate efficiency in other industries. The company plans to launch an exchange-traded fund based on US equities in the index later in 2015. The inclusion of an ESG screen in the index methodology looks to favour companies who operate sustainably. “Companies with efficient supply chains and management teams that plan for the long run are likely to do better in our changing climate,” said Conor Platt, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Etho Capital.