Archive for February 2017

Investors lured to gold’s defensive traits, reports ETF Securities

Feb 27th, 2017 | By
Gold ETFs set to benefit as 'fear trade' intensifies, reports World Gold Council

Gold has remained a firm favourite with investors, according to ETF Securities’ latest weekly funds flows report, attracting a net $192.1m into the firm’s gold ETPs during the week ended 24 February 2017. These figures – the fourth consecutive week of positive net gatherings – marked a 30 week high for gold ETPs net inflows. As reported by ETF Securities, investors were lured to gold’s defensive characteristics as the Eurozone remains mired in political uncertainty with Dutch and French elections just around the corner.


PowerShares rolls out four actively managed multi-asset ETFs

Feb 27th, 2017 | By
Jason Bloom PowerShares ETFs

PowerShares has launched four actively managed multi-asset ETFs, providing exposure to globally-diversified portfolios of equities and bonds with each fund catering to a different risk tolerance profile – from conservative to growth-oriented investors. Jason Bloom, Global Market Strategist at PowerShares, said: “Given the increasingly complex markets and varying risk profiles of our clients, we’re excited to bring Invesco’s broad range of capabilities together in simplified, single ticket solutions.”


Vanguard further reduces fees across equity and bond ETFs

Feb 27th, 2017 | By
Tabula halves fee on Paris-aligned euro high yield ETF

Vanguard has reduced the fees charged across a broad range of its US-listed funds, including nine equity ETFs and three bond ETFs. Five of the ETFs chosen for fee reductions are the industry’s largest within their respective categories, according to Morningstar data. Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb, said: “While Vanguard is lowering — and will continue to lower — the cost of investing, the so-called fee war is essentially over on the beta battleground… Investors have won.”


European equity ETFs stage strong start to 2017

Feb 27th, 2017 | By
WisdomTree: Why you can't afford to miss European small caps

Investors in European equity ETFs have enjoyed a bullish start to the year as local companies have gained ground amid positive economic and corporate earnings data – the MSCI Europe Index is up around 2.9% year to date in EUR terms, reflected in a range of ETFs tracking the index. Despite the strong performance, headwinds remain for the region with analysts noting a slowdown in global growth as well as political uncertainty over several key elections as potential disruptors to the continent’s growth momentum.


Satrix unveils South African property and inflation-linked ETFs

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
Satrix unveils South African property and government bond ETFs

Satrix Managers, the company to launch the first ETF in South Africa, has added two new funds to its suite of ETFs – the Satrix Property ETF (JSE: STXPRO) and Satrix Inflation-Linked Bond ETF (JSE: STXILB). Satrix chief investment officer, Helena Conradie, commented: “Satrix will stay relevant and will remain the resonant voice in the South African indexing industry. We will continue to write real stories in the lives of real people.”


VanEck MOAT ETF outperforms S&P 500 by 11% over one year

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
VanEck targets US mid & small-caps with latest “Moat” ETF

The VanEck Vectors Morningstar US Wide Moat UCITS ETF (LON: MOAT) has returned 31.3% over a one-year period ended 31 January 2017, outperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 20.0% return over the same time frame. According to recent Morningstar data, the US-listed version of the fund is in the top percentile for the US large blend category for the past 12 months (out of a universe of 1,415 funds).


Strategic beta ETFs underutilised, finds survey

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
Morningstar reports strong 7.5% quarterly growth in ETF Managed Portfolios

Hartford Funds has released survey data showing that a significant number of investors aren’t taking advantage of the full range of factor-based investment solutions available to them. Despite investor worries about market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, the survey shows that 36% of advisors do not currently invest in strategic beta ETFs, indicating there is plenty of room for growth in the segment.


Lipper report finds ETFs gaining ground in ‘efficient’ markets

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
S&P DJI reports strong factor performances in Q2

Research from Thomson Reuters Lipper found that, across 107 global asset class classifications, 75 of the categories displayed a directional divergence in net flows between active mutual funds and ETFs listed in Europe. According to Lipper, the figures showed that ETFs are gaining a greater relative share of assets in categories covering efficient markets while investors are still preferring active funds over ETFs where market inefficiencies present opportunities.


Euronext launches European family-run business index

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
Euronext launches MIB ESG Index

Euronext has launched the Euronext Family Business Index, tracking the performance of 90 family-run companies listed across the four Euronext exchanges – Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon and Brussels. The index has been designed to serve as the underlying reference for future investment products including ETFs.


Calm markets leading investors away from low-volatility ETFs

Feb 24th, 2017 | By
Whitford enters ETF space with Volshares fund launch

Investors have begun to shift away from low-volatility ETFs – in direct contrast to strong net inflows for other smart beta funds – as equity markets continue to make strong gains and disruptions remain significantly low. Thus far this year, the VIX has fallen to below 10 points, the first time it has done so in a decade, while several global and US equity indices have reached record highs. Consequently, investors have begun voting with their feet, globally withdrawing $600m from low-volatility ETFs in January.