Amundi, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the cross-listing of the Amundi MSCI Europe Buyback UCITS ETF on Xetra and the Börse Frankfurt. This smart beta fund aims to provide exposure to European companies that are undertaking share buyback programmes. Valerie Baudson, CEO at Amundi ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta, said: “This innovative ETF adds to our smart beta range and reinforces the positioning of Amundi as a leading innovative player in the European ETF market.”

WisdomTree, a leading provider of currency-hedged exchange-traded funds, has listed a new ETF with BATS Global Markets, a leading US exchange for the trading of ETFs. The launch is the fifth WisdomTree fund to be listed on the BATS exchange since the two officially began their partnership on 29 October 2015. The fund offers currency-hedged exposure to a global range of income-generating small-capitalisation stocks, while applying a weighting scheme to favour those firms with higher dividend streams, the US dollar cash value of annual dividends relative to the selected index.

Bank of China International (BOCI) , in partnership with German investment bank Commerzbank, has announced the launch of Europe’s first Renminbi-denominated China A Share ETF: the BOCI Commerzbank Shanghai Stock Exchange 50 A Share Index UCITS ETF (BOC1). The ETF has made its debut at the inauguration of the Frankfurt-headquartered China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX). Li Tong, Chief Executive Officer of BOCI, said: “We are honoured to launch Europe’s first RMB-denominated A Share ETF on the day of CEINEX’s inauguration. It boosts the opening up of China’s capital market and RMB internationalization, opening a new chapter in our overseas business development.”

ZyFin, a Singapore-headquartered asset manager with advisory operations based in India, has listed the world’s first Indian fixed income exchange-traded fund, the LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprise Bond UCITS ETF (GNT1 GR), on Xetra and the Börse Frankfurt. “Today, with the world’s first Indian fixed income ETF, we are launching our product line of innovative ETFs intended to give investors cost-effective and transparent access to investment opportunities in emerging markets,” said Sanjay Sachdev, Chairman and co-founder of ZyFin.

The internationalisation of the Renminbi has accelerated with the official launch of the China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX), a joint venture between the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse and China Financial Futures Exchange. The new exchange, which is based in Frankfurt, is the culmination of a collaboration between the three groups to improve European investors’ access to Chinese securities. The new exchange, which is based in Frankfurt, is the culmination of a collaboration between the three groups to improve European investors’ access to Chinese securities. The exchange offers investment products, such as exchange-traded funds, based on Chinese underlyings to international investors and becomes the first and only dedicated platform for authorized RMB-denominated trading outside mainland China.

Cass Business School, in co-operation with Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds, has released a series of four research papers, examining the origins, sources of returns, opportunities and due diligence challenges of smart beta. Bryon Lake, Head of Invesco PowerShares – EMEA, commented: “Smart beta is becoming an increasingly popular component in investors’ portfolios and these products are becoming ever more mainstream. We were pleased to link with Cass Business School and believe that these papers will help inform and educate investors in how smart beta can be used effectively within portfolios.”

Exchange-traded fund usage is more common among young investors than among older investors. That’s according to a survey undertaken by Cogent Reports, a division of research group Market Strategies International. The survey explores brand preference and product usage among affluent US investors, defined as those with investable assets exceeding $100,000.

First Asset, the Toronto-based investment manager, has concluded the conversion of its closed-end fund, the Can-60 Income Corp, to an exchange-traded fund. All outstanding shares in the original format were consolidated on a 1:3 basis as new shares in the First Asset Core Canadian Equity Income ETF (Toronto Stock Exchange: CSY). The ETF combines a range of First Asset ETFs to provide exposure to momentum, value, size and volatility factors. First Asset’s suite of Core ETFs provide one-ticket portfolio solutions to advisors and their clients through optimised low cost portfolios.

First Trust Advisors, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds, has launched an actively managed ETF which aims to provide investors with targeted exposure to US and international real estate securities. The First Trust Heitman Global Prime Real Estate ETF will invest in the shares of publicly-traded companies that own top tier, prime properties in the world’s dominant cities. “This ETF provides a unique tool for investors to gain exposure to an actively managed portfolio of some of the most attractive prime real estate assets around the world, in a way that’s both diversified and liquid,” said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, Exchange-Traded Fund Strategist at First Trust.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) this week released research predicting a slow rebalancing of oil prices over the next five years. Meanwhile, in the currency markets, the recent international strength of the US dollar and British pound continued, with the former’s robustness keeping demand and prices for precious metal ETPs low. In other news, long ETPs tracking sugar and cocoa were the week’s two biggest gainers amid upwards revisions of predicted 2016 deficit levels.