State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has published its 2017 Investment Outlook report, suggesting three strategies to help navigate a political and investment environment that underwent global seismic shifts during 2016. In the face of heightened uncertainty, the firm recommends seeking income at a reasonable risk by extending past traditional bond exposures, positioning one’s portfolio for a reflationary environment, and seeking to mitigate episodic volatility through the use of safe haven assets and smart beta equity allocations.

Vanguard has published its 2017 Economic and Market Outlook report whereby ongoing challenges such as an ageing population, ineffective monetary policies, and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, have led to the most guarded forecast in ten years for global stock and bond performance. Peter Westaway, Vanguard Chief Economist in Europe, however, believes in the global economy’s resilience in navigating such trials. “The global economy has a remarkable ability to adapt to change. We anticipate muted, but enduring and positive economic growth in the years ahead,” he said.

Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Europe were $556bn at the end of November, down from the record high of $567bn reached at the end of Q3 2016, according to latest research from ETFGI. Net flows gathered by ETFs/ETPs in November were still positive at $3.6bn, marking the 27th consecutive month of net inflows for the region. The most successful gatherers of net new ETF assets in November were BNP Paribas Easy with $1.5bn, Vanguard with $883m, and Source with $718m.

Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new record high of $3,445bn at the end of November 2016, according to latest research from London-based ETF consultant ETFGI. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered a record level of net inflows for the month of November at $64.7bn with the majority of flows going into US exposures, reflecting the bullish sentiment for US equities following Donald Trump’s successful bid for the White House. Active ETFs/ETPs also gathered record assets of $1.1bn.

Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in the United States reached a new record high of $2,471bn at the end of November 2016, according to research from London-based ETF consultant ETFGI. US-listed ETFs/ETPs gathered $48.1bn in November, marking the 9th consecutive month of positive net inflows for the country. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest and a record level of $49.5bn in net inflows with the majority of money flowing into products providing exposure to US equities.

Nuveen, an operating division of TIAA Global Asset Management, has launched the NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF (Bats: NURE), offering exposure to US-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) whose operations typically involve shorter lease durations. Short-term REITS, including those managing apartment buildings, hotels, self-storage facilities, and manufactured home properties, have historically outperformed the broad US listed REIT universe in times of rising interest rates.

State Street Global Advisors and Bloomberg have added enhancements to Bloomberg’s Fixed Income ETF Basket service, which automates the process of gaining access to liquidity necessary to create and redeem fixed income ETFs. The upgrade enables dealers to proactively provide existing bond inventory from which providers can create targeted baskets. Tim Coyne, Head of Institutional Sales and Global Capital Markets for SPDR ETFs at SSGA, said: “In offering clients improved access to the benefits of fixed income ETFs, these innovations give portfolio managers more choices and flexibility to customize their bond exposure.”

John Hancock Investments has built out its suite of multifactor ETFs with the launch of the John Hancock Multifactor Developed International ETF (NYSE: JHMD). Harnessing research from smart beta pioneer Dimensional Fund Advisors’, the ETF offers access to international equities with low size, low relative prices, high profitability, and positive price momentum. Andrew G. Arnott, CEO of John Hancock Investments, said: “We are pleased to be able to bring Dimensional’s proven multifactor approach to investors seeking to invest in international markets.”

Mirae Asset Global Investments has launched the Mirae Asset Horizons S&P Asia ex Japan Healthcare ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, offering local investors access to the performance of healthcare companies listed in Asian countries excluding Japan. The Asia ex-Japan healthcare sector is expected to grow at a rate of 6.6% per annum by 2019, according to David Tsoi, an ETF analyst at Mirae. The Indian and Chinese healthcare markets are of particular interest, as high growth of 16% and 8.8% respectively are expected in these two markets.

Solactive has unveiled the Solactive Power Factor High Dividend Index, tracking the performance of 50 US-listed stocks exhibiting high dividend yields and strong fundamentals. The index has been licensed to WBI Investments as the underlying for the recently launched ‘smart beta’ WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF (NYSE: WBIY). Don Schreiber, Jr., Founder and CEO of WBI Investments, commented: “We’re introducing a smarter approach for yield starved investors at a time when the need for consistent capital growth and capital preservation is absolutely critical.”