Global assets in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products hit a record high at the end of last month, according to data from ETFGI’s May 2016 global ETF and ETP industry insights report. Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs reached $3.143tn at the end of last month, up 0.2% on the previous record set in April this year. Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI, said in a statement: “There is still a significant amount of uncertainty in the markets due to Investors the upcoming Brexit vote and the expectation that the Fed will raise rates sooner than expected”

London Stock Exchange plc and electronic platform Boat Services have come together to launch a trade reporting service that will cover all pre- and post- trade reporting services to help with looming regulation in the form of MiFID II and is intended to be the European platform of choice for trade reporting. TRADEcho is being launched on the back of demand in light of MiFID II regulation, due to come into force in 2018, which requires certain trades from all asset classes be reported. TRADEcho aims to be the platform of choice for trade reporting in Europe and will start by covering equities and fixed income.

IFAs would be more likely to invest in ETFs if they had better access to ETF-based model portfolios, according to a survey from ETF provider Source. Asking 150 UK-based IFAs and discretionary wealth managers who were interviewed by Prescient during March 2016, the survey found that IFAs reported that they would be encouraged to invest more in ETFs if they had greater access to ETF-based model portfolios. Existing users of ETFs had a different view of ETFs, with 71% of those surveyed saying it was the ability of ETFs to offer long-term market exposure as their main reason for using them. This was followed by tactical portfolio adjustments (62%), income generation (40%) and sector rotation (39%).

Discretionary fund manager Twenty20 Investments is set to put 10 of its exchange-traded fund model portfolios on investment platform Parmenion. The 10 risk-rated model portfolios are offered on Parmenion’s FinTech50 platform, which includes a fully integrated technology comprising scalable risk mapping tools, commitment to adviser service and a philosophy based on the notion that automation is key to driving down costs to end investors. Allan Lane, Managing Partner of Twenty20 Investments, said in a statement: “Our mission at Twenty20 Investments has always been to put the investor first, and we are strong believers that innovative use of technology offers the best hope of driving costs down.”

SSGA has issued 40 of its existing SPDR exchange traded funds on Euroclear’s FundSettle fund processing platform. The move comes in response to client requests to align their ETF order execution with transactions in mutual funds. The 40 ETFs includes SPDR’s 29 Sector ETFs and enables end investors to buy and sell shares in ETFs like mutual funds, at the end-of-day “net asset value”. Those European investors who exclusively invest in mutual funds will now have access to the 40 SPDR ETFs. Launched in 2000 by Euroclear, FundSettle automates and standardises the straight-through processing of offshore and domestic fund transactions.

Deutsche Boerse’s index business STOXX, has launched a range of smart beta ethical indices adding to its STOXX Select and STOXX Diversification Select index family, released last year. The indices are launched as liquid underlyings for financial products such as exchange traded funds. The newly launched indices combine investment themes including low carbon and ESG (economic, social & governance) with low volatility, high dividend and low correlation screens, creating hybrid index concepts. Matteo Andreetto, CEO at STOXX, said in a statement: “By extending our suite of smart-beta indices, we are again at the forefront of innovation with regard to major investment trends.”

HKEX and Thomson Reuters have signed an agreement for the creation of a new series of Renminbi (RMB) indices. The RMB indices will serve as the basis for products, such as ETPs, that help investors manage currency risk. The new global benchmarks will reflect the development of the RMB exchange rate against other major currencies and is the latest step in RMB’s internationalisation. HKEX operates Hong Kong’s securities and derivatives markets as well as four clearing houses in Hong Kong: three of which provide clearing and settlement services for ETPs. Charles Li CEO, HKEX, said: “Our RMB indices will serve as the basis for products to help investors manage currency risk.”

The Bank of Japan’s exchange-traded fund buying scheme combined with ETF providers working with the government, has helped the Japanese ETF market boom with assets and flows now hitting record highs. Japan-listed ETFs and ETPs gathered a record US$9.24bn in net new assets in the first two months of the year. Nikko AM is an Asian headquartered company that has been managing assets in Japan for 55+ years. In 2001 it became one of the first asset managers to launch ETFs in Asia and now has a thriving ETF business. ETF Strategy takes a look at the London office and budding ETF business from the asset manager.

Global index provider STOXX has launched a new range of multi-asset indices combining equities and fixed income. These indices can be used as an underlying for exchange-traded funds and should mean investors can construct portfolios according to individual risk preferences and various macroeconomic factors. The EURO STOXX 50 Multi-Asset Indices replicate a hypothetical portfolio which tracks the performance of the EURO STOXX 50 Index and the EURO STOXX 50 Corporate Bond Index. Matteo Andreetto, CEO of STOXX said: “These are the first indices in the STOXX offering which provide market participants with a highly liquid solution for diversification over two complementary asset classes.”

Mutual fund platform Hartford Funds has signed an agreement to acquire investment management firm Lattice Strategies in a bid to break into the ETF space, building out its actively managed mutual fund business. Lattice Strategies offers a range of multi-asset solutions, proprietary indexes and smart beta ETFs. The firm’s ETF family was launched in 2015, and was among the top 5 fastest-growing new ETF issuers for the year according to ETFGI.com. It has $215 million in assets under management as of March 31, 2016. Ted Lucas, managing partner at Lattice Strategies, said: “Our firms bring complementary strengths that will provide advisors and their clients with the strategies they need to address the investment challenges they are attempting to solve.”