Global X, the seventeenth-largest US-based ETF issuer, has entered into an agreement to sell 100% of its fully diluted shares to Mirae Asset Global Investments, an independent financial services business based in Asia. “With Global X on board, we are now connecting one of the most successful US ETF firms to a prominent Asian-based global ETF manager, creating a powerful ETF platform.” said Taeyong Lee, president, global head of ETFs for Mirae Asset.

Amundi has cross-listed two equity ETFs onto SIX Swiss Exchange, further expanding its Swiss offering. One of the funds to be cross-listed tracks the EURO STOXX 50 and has been made available in three separate share classes. The other tracks the CAC 40.

By Peter Hopkins, chief operating officer of Style Research.

As the industry works to cope with new regulation, wades through an outpouring of new products, learns to satisfy investors’ shifting priorities and manages the active-passive debate, the viability of business units will be questioned, and at times radical measures will be taken. It’s still early days for these trends shaping the future of asset management, but their impacts will be felt far and wide.

Commerzbank, the German bank behind the ComStage line-up of ETFs, has launched a new fund on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra and Frankfurt exchanges, offering exposure to the STOXX Europe 600 Index.

Deutsche Asset Management has lowered the expense ratios of two Xtrackers ETFs within its suite of high dividend equity funds. Fiona Bassett, global co-head of passive asset management in the Americas, commented, “With interest rates globally currently at low levels, equities paying higher dividend rates could be an attractive option to meet ongoing income requirements within portfolios.”

Invesco has announced that it is moving to a unified global brand. The company will now be referred to as Invesco everywhere it does business with the brands affected by the change being Perpetual, Trimark and Invesco’s ETF business PowerShares. Marty Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco, said, “Although we are moving to a unified brand, we will preserve the time-tested and distinctive investment perspectives, processes and approaches of our many investment teams across the globe.”

By Nick Leung, research analyst at WisdomTree in Europe.

A widening oil spread presents trading opportunities for oil investors. In this brief, we examine how short and leveraged oil ETPs can be used to efficiently trade oil price movements.

By Gene Frieda, executive vice president and global strategist at PIMCO.

With a steady repricing of global bond markets having contributed to a sharp plunge in global stock markets, there could be a whiff of a new era in the air. Given the failure of both markets and central banks to forecast inflation accurately, we should all be humble about the level of precision attached to the timing or nature of the bond market’s next chapter.

Vanguard Investments Canada has lowered the management fee for one of its largest fixed income ETFs listed in Canada, reinforcing its reputation as a leading low-cost ETF provider. Atul Tiwari, managing director for Vanguard Investments Canada, said, “Vanguard’s mission is to give investors the best chance for investment success, and part of that commitment is to lower the cost of investing for all Canadians.”

Global ETF flows continued their positive trend in January 2018, with an increase of €96.6 billion, according to data from European ETF provider Amundi. The US market gained most of the inflows, at €78.6bn, against €13.2bn for the European market. Research by EY suggests that ETF assets have the potential to hit $7.6 trillion by the end of 2020.