Archive for January 2016

European ETF AUM rises 24% in 2015, Morningstar reports

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
Assets under management up 24% across European ETFs during 2015, finds Morningstar

Assets under management in the European exchange traded fund sector rose 24% last year to €467.4bn, according to investment research firm, Morningstar, who back industry predictions that foresee AUM hitting the €1tn mark by 2020.
Morningstar’s 2015 ETF flows report looks at the dynamics of the European ETF market last year, finding that a combination of the region’s strongest annual net inflows coupled with a combined capital appreciation of €19.6bn across asset classes helped boost the industry.


Invesco acquires robo-advisor Jemstep, enhancing availability of ETFs

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
Invesco boosts prominence of PowerShares ETFs by acquiring robo-advisor Jemstep

Asset manager Invesco has expanded its services into the robo-advisor space with the acquisition of Jemstep, a digital platform specialising in providing online tailored investment advice to financial advisors. Investors using Jemstep will complete a personal questionnaire regarding their investment goals, risk tolerance and time frame. The robo-advisor will then use an algorithm to form portfolios based on each client’s specific requirements.


BMO launches ETF-based online portfolio tool for Canadian investors

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
BMO launches SmartFolio, an ETF-based robo-advisor for Canadian investors

BMO Wealth Management, the fund management division of the Canadian-headquartered bank, has expanded its suite of investment services available to Canadian Investors with the launch of SmartFolio. The service requires a minimum investment of CAD 5,000 and uses a questionnaire to determine the user’s investment goals and risk tolerance. The investor is then assigned to one of five ETF-based portfolios most closely suiting their objectives.


iShares launches first UCITS ETF accessing Israel’s national index

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
Launch of iShares Israel ETF opens access to largest Tel Aviv-listed companies

iShares, the world’s largest exchange-traded fund provider, has increased its range of country-specific ETFs domiciled in Europe with the launch of the iShares TA-25 Israel UCITS ETF (TASE LN). The ETF will track the TA-25 index, which offers exposure to the top 25 largest firms listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) while using a single holding cap of 10% to prevent over-concentration in any single company. It is rebalanced twice a year.


iShares transfers MSCI Eurozone ETF from NYSE Arca to BATS

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
SEC approves streamlining of active ETP listings

iShares, the exchange-traded fund division of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock, has become the second ETF issuer since November to announce the de-listing of a fund from NYSE Arca and transfer to the BATS ETF Marketplace. The iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) will be re-listed with BATS Global Markets, the Kansas-headquartered exchange, on or around 2 February 2016. The move comes swiftly after ProShares, a provider of specialist ETFs, withdrew four funds during December 2015 from the New York exchange in favour of the incentives offered through the BATS trading model.


iShares favours BATS as it moves three ETFs over

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
iShares expands fixed income range with high yield ETF

BATS Global Markets, a leading electronic stock exchange group, has announced three new listings from exchange traded fund provider iShares, reflecting a growing interest in BATS as the top exchange for US ETF trading. The new additions bring the total number of ETFs offered by iShares on BATS to 30. iShares also announced it will be switching its $13.7bn iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) from its current listing on the NYSE Arca to BATS on or around 2 February 2016. BATS Exchanges accounted for 25.7% of all ETF trading in the US during last December.


Fidelity FundsNetwork lists Source PIMCO active ETF

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
IG Group offers commission free ETF trading to ISA accounts during March and April

European exchange traded fund provider Source has announced that Fidelity FundsNetwork (FFN) will list its PIMCO Sterling Short Maturity Source UCITS ETF (QUID LN) on its online investment platform. The fund, which as of 11 January 2016 had over £120m in assets under management, is the first actively managed ETF to be listed by FFN.


Globally-listed ETPs gather record high assets of $370bn in 2015

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
Globally-listed ETFs/ETPs gathered over $370bn in net new assets during 2015, according to ETFGI

London-based exchange-traded fund consultancy ETFGI has announced that the global ETF/exchange traded product industry attracted $372.0bn in net new assets over the course of 2015. This is the largest annual gathering of net new assets, having surpassed the previous record of $338.3bn set in 2014.


Franklin Templeton plans entrance into smart beta ETF space

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
Franklin Templeton plan entrance into smart beta ETF realm

Californian asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments has filed papers with regulators signifying its intention to launch four equity exchange-traded funds with smart beta investment themes. Details within the filings indicate that the new funds, which will be part of the firm’s ‘LibertyQ’ range, will track rules-based indices calculated by MSCI.


iShares launches high yield corporate bond ETF

Jan 25th, 2016 | By
iShares expands fixed income range with high yield ETF

iShares, the largest global exchange-traded fund provider by assets under management, has strengthened its range of fixed income ETFs with the launch of the iShares Euro Corporate Bond BB-B UCITS ETF (BBEB LN). The fund offers euro-denominated exposure to over 200 high yield corporate bonds with credit ratings between BB+ and B-.