Swiss & Global Asset Management has broadened access to its range of actively managed “Julius Baer Smart Equity” exchange-traded funds with the roll-out of the funds on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The funds were first listed on the Deutsche Börse in June 2012. Michele Porro, Head of Distribution Swiss & Global Asset Management, said: “Swiss & Global stands for active management. These new products capitalise on our proven twenty-year track record in systematic stock picking and combine this expertise with the advantages of exchange-traded products.”

SIX Swiss Exchange has welcomed its first actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The launch of a range of active products from Swiss & Global Asset Management means that both active and passive ETFs are now available on the exchange. Stephan Meier, spokesperson for SIX Swiss Exchange, said: “We are delighted to launch actively managed ETFs on SIX Swiss Exchange…Combining the liquidity and tradability of ETFs with the potential strengths of active management, actively-managed ETFs meet a clear demand for investors.”

Despite declining fund use among advisors, traditional mutual fund managers, particularly large fund complexes, are poised to play a leading role in the next phase of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) revolution – the rollout of active ETFs – according to a report from Cogent Research. As interest in active ETFs builds, it appears that traditional fund managers are well positioned to capture (or retain) a portion of future active ETF flows.

Exchange-traded funds (ETF) perform strongly in terms of transparency and cost effectiveness, and are expected to become increasingly important to both institutional and private investors, according to a specialist committee on ETFs at the Swiss Funds Association (SFA). The comments were made at a recent media conference held by the SFA in Zurich and come after the publication of data showing that ETFs account for a steadily growing share of the fund volume booked in Switzerland.

Contrary to recent forecasts predicting the end of the gold bull market, Graham Tuckwell, Founder and Chairman of ETF Securities, believes untapped demand from China and India, and retail investors, will lead to a second decade of growth for the gold market. Ten years on since Tuckwell launched the world’s first physical gold exchange-traded product in Australia, similar products are now listed on 31 exchanges throughout the world and have seen assets under management reach $147 billion.

Swiss & Global Asset Management, manager of the Julius Baer range of funds, has added a series of Julius Baer Smart Equity ETFs to its investment fund range. The Zurich-based company is among the first fund managers in Europe to give investors access to actively managed equity portfolios in an ETF format.