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STOXX licenses Select Dividend 30 Index to Mirae AM for smart beta ETF

Jul 4th, 2016 | By
Matteo Andreetto, Head of SPDR ETF Business, EMEA

Global index provider STOXX has licensed its EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index to Korean asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments to underlie a new smart beta ETF, which is listed on the Korean Stock Exchange today. The underlying universe of the EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30 index is the EURO STOXX Index. Matteo Andreetto, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited, said: “The EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index is part of STOXX’s innovative smart-beta offering. As we weigh the components in this index by dividend yield rather than market cap, it offers direct access to the performance of high-dividend paying companies.”


Liquidity in ETFs continues to stand up during times of market stress

Jul 1st, 2016 | By
Adriano Pace, Head of Equities (Europe) at Tradeweb

Trading on electronic ETF platform Tradeweb soared on Friday 27th June following the ‘leave’ results of the EU Referendum as investors quickly cashed in on falling markets and bought safe haven assets in a bid to protect themselves from volatility. Adriano Pace, managing director, equity derivatives at Tradeweb, said: “Friday’s high trading volumes demonstrate the strength of the ETF market. It shows how good liquidity in ETFs can be maintained in times of market stress. This is the third proper test that we have had for ETFs on our platform in the last 12 months, and each time we have seen trading accelerate.”


Investors should look to dividend-paying smart beta ETFs

Jun 30th, 2016 | By
Amundi launches GBP-hedging for US Treasury bond ETFs

With rates anticipated to stay low for a while, investors should look to dividend paying exchange-traded funds with a smart beta tilt, say market experts. Speaking at the ETF Strategy Income and Yield briefing yesterday, industry commentators said that dividend yield is king. However, investors should be aware of so-called ‘dividend traps’ whereby the highest paying stocks are the highest risk. Caroline Baron, head of Invesco PowerShares ETF Distribution UK, said that investors should “focus on yield because this is where we are now, but it should have some kind of tilt.”


FTSE Russell to launch new index series with Namibian Exchange

Jun 30th, 2016 | By
S&P Dow Jones extends Africa-focused index offering

Global index provider FTSE Russell has developed a new index series with the Namibian Stock Exchange. Due to launch tomorrow, there are 20 indexes on offer, which will be available as underlyings for index products, including exchange-traded funds. The Namibian-focused indexes have been calculated by FTSE Russell since 2002, but were previously part of the FTSE JSE Index Series. They have now been separated from this and will have their own Ground Rules. ‘Ground Rules’ describes the underlying universe from which constituents are chosen, their eligibility criteria and the frequency at which the composition of the indexes are reviewed.


Gold ETPs continue to present opportunities

Jun 28th, 2016 | By
Gold still shines bright

Following Thursday’s Brexit result the price of gold rallied, rising 6.6% on Friday to hit $1,337 an ounce. But while prices may look saturated there could still be upside and ETPs could offer investors another way to access the precious metal. In the wake of the announcement that the UK had voted to leave the European Union, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100 fell 5.3% and 5.68%, respectively. However, the S&P GSCI Gold Total Return gained 4.9% between 2th – 27th June- its best performance since August 2011 – and the Bloomberg Gold Sub index Total Return rose 5%.


The benefits of blending index funds, ETFs and active funds

Jun 24th, 2016 | By

Investors have historically had to choose between passive or active management, but in recent years they have been offered a combination of the two, or – blending – as it is often referred to, an approach that has seen good results. One such firm offering this ‘blended’ service is discretionary investment management firm JM Finn. It offers a core satellite managed portfolio service (MPS), which has been running for five years and has £150m in AUM. The service uses ETFs, index funds and active funds for varying reasons and the team building and managing these is headed up by Mike Mount, Director of Intermediary Solutions.


MSCI denies China A Shares entry to EM Index for third year

Jun 16th, 2016 | By
DeAWM to unveil first US-listed China A-shares ETF

Global index provider MSCI has announced that it will not be including China’s A Shares in its Emerging Market index. This is the third year in a row that China’s domestic market has been denied entry into MSCI’s indices. Not being included in the index will come as a blow to policy makers in Beijing who have been working hard to reform China’s domestic market, opening up its financial markets to attract foreign capital. China is the world’s second-largest equity market.


How is Brexit impacting ETF investors and their portfolios?

Jun 15th, 2016 | By
Hedge UK and European equities before EU referendum, advises ETF provider WisdomTree Europe

Britain is well and truly in the countdown to the EU referendum vote, with only two weeks to go until it decides whether to stay in or leave on June 23rd. And with the latest poll from YouGov taken on June 6th showing that 43% vote to remain and 42% vote to leave, the battle remains close. ETF Strategy spoke to industry experts who take a look at how investors view the impending vote and how portfolios are being adjusted accordingly. Included are: James Butterfill, Head of Research and Investment Strategy at ETF Securities, Viktor Nossek, Director of Research at WisdomTree Europe, and Marlene Hassine, Head of ETF Research at Lyxor AM.


Ethical ETFs in vogue amid tobacco sell-off

Jun 10th, 2016 | By

AXA Group announced last month that it was planning to sell around €1.8bn in tobacco investments. The announcement comes as assets in ethical investing via ETFs have boomed, with global AUM rising nearly 45% since 2014, according to data from BlackRock. However, from an investment stance, tobacco stocks have been a pretty strong performer in the last few years. British American Tobacco (one of the largest tobacco firms with market cap of £78bn) has seen its share price rise 52% to 4,167 (last week) over the last five years. In the last year it has risen 19%.


Is now the time to invest in broad Emerging Market ETFs?

Jun 9th, 2016 | By
First Trust considers human dignity in new emerging markets ETF

Emerging markets have had a dreadful two years, but Tuesday heralded a 1.5% jump from MSCI’s Emerging Market (EM) index – its biggest gain since mid-April – following positive comments from Janet Yellen on the US economy and suggestions that an interest rate rise is coming. However, despite emerging markets as an asset class performing very poorly in general over the last two years with large asset outflows, the index’s movement is a reversal of fortunes for emerging markets, which has seen it drop nearly 20% to 349 in the last two years.