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.

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.

Smart beta exchange-traded funds have attracted considerable attention, and assets, in recent years, sparking a great deal of debate. Much of this debate has been centred on the term itself, “smart beta”. Some argue that it implies market capitalisation-weighted ETFs are therefore “dumb beta” and that this inference can be misleading for investors. While the term smart beta may be open to misinterpretation, it has undeniably become part of the financial lexicon and, semantics aside, is now the most widely adopted term to describe rules-based non market cap-weighted and strategy-based investing. So let’s all move on from discussions over the term itself and, instead, focus on what’s important.

ZyFin, a Singapore-headquartered asset manager with advisory operations based in India, has announced the imminent listing of the world’s first Indian fixed income exchange-traded fund, the LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprise Bond UCITS ETF (CURY LN), on the London Stock Exchange. Sanjay Sachdev, Executive Chairman at ZyFin, commented: “This is the first time global investors will have access to AAA rated government-owned Indian companies through an ETF, and with the Indian government keen to stimulate outside investment, this is a very exciting time to be investing in the country.”

FTSE Russell, a global index provider, has partnered with State Bank of India, India’s largest bank, to develop a new index tracking Indian fixed income securities. “Despite investor appetite to access India’s ongoing growth story, at present Indian issuers’ bonds do not have a credible global benchmark for passive investment funds that captures the Indian growth story,” said Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya,

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), the asset management arm of the global investment bank, has added to their growing lineup of smart beta ETFs with the launch of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity ETF (GSIE). The fund employs a multi-factor smart beta approach that weights international equity holdings based on established drivers of performance, namely: value, momentum, quality and low volatility. “The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity ETF leverages our broad global expertise to deliver access to slices of international markets in a sophisticated and cost-effective way,” said Michael Crinieri, GSAM’s Global Head of ETF Strategies.

AlphaClone, the investment advisor behind the innovative AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF (ALFA), has launched an ETF tracking their latest equity index of “best ideas” cherry-picked from the portfolios of established hedge fund managers. “Following a similar methodology used inside separately managed accounts since 2010, we’re excited to offer an international ETF to help long-term investors navigate international opportunities,” said Maz Jadallah, CEO of AlphaClone. “Our approach seeks to combine the best of man and machine by leveraging the most established investors while offering a rules-based investment methodology.”

BMO Global Asset Management, the fund management division of the Canadian-headquartered bank, has become the latest company to enter the fast growing European ETF space. The firm has launched four global corporate bond ETFs to help investors diversify their exposure to global investment grade corporate bonds and high yield bonds, and five smart beta equity ETFs focused on generating high quality income for investors. “Establishing our ETF offering in Europe is a key strategic milestone for us as we continue to expand across the region,” said Richard Wilson, CEO, BMO Global Asset Management (EMEA).

Amundi, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has added to its fixed income ETF range by launching an ETF offering exposure to the Markit iBoxx EUR Liquid Corporates BBB Top 60 index. According to Amundi, the fund has been designed as an asset allocation tool for investors seeking to capture yield on euro credit markets, as European issuers still benefit from strong fundamentals and favourable environment with ECB Quantitative Easing.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch of two new smart beta ETFs centred around low beta equity investing in the US and internationally. The PowerShares Russell 1000 Low Beta Equal Weight Portfolio (USLB) and PowerShares FTSE International Low Beta Equal Weight Portfolio (IDLB) follow a multi-factor strategy, that combines individual factors in an attempt to improve risk-adjusted returns over market capitalisation-weighted benchmarks. Their low correlation with market cap-weighted portfolios means these products can also provide useful diversification benefits.