Market Vectors has announced the launch of the Market Vectors Preferred Securities ex Financials ETF (PFXF), a fund designed to offer investors access to the income potential of preferred securities without the volatility of financials. PFXF seeks to replicate the price and yield performance of the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities ex Financials Index (WHPSL), a rules-based index intended to track the overall performance of publicly traded non-financial preferred securities.

Amidst deteriorating economic conditions and further signs of slowing global growth, commodity Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in the energy and precious metals sectors attracted net new inflows during the second quarter. Investors took advantage of recent price movements in crude oil and natural gas, whilst gold and silver products were also in demand, according to the latest edition of the Global Commodity ETP Quarterly, released by leading ETP provider, ETF Securities.

iShares has launched an accredited CPD webinar course to help advisers increase and formalise their knowledge of ETFs ahead of the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). The iShares CPD course will support advisers in filling qualification gaps and consists of three 30-minute modules. The first module provides an overview about ETFs and their relevance for financial advisers. Subsequent modules provide information on the different types of ETF structures on the market, how to select the right ETF and incorporating them within a portfolio.

Investors are increasingly using ETFs to capitalise on movements in the FTSE 100, according to analysis from Barclays Stockbrokers. The UK’s largest execution-only retail broker revealed that, across May and June 2012, investments made in FTSE-related ETFs accounted for 40% of total client ETF trades. Paul Inkster, Head of Product, said: “Barclays Stockbrokers investors have consistently used ETFs as effective and accessible investment vehicles and are increasingly using them to capture short-term market movements, as well as in longer-term portfolio construction.”

Fitch Ratings says that investors should carefully review the investment processes of European dividend funds. This oversight is necessary to ensure that forward-looking analysis on dividend sustainability is at the core of the analysis. While high-dividend ETFs almost invariably have certain sector biases, most include mechanisms to ensure dividend sustainability. SSgA SPDR’s ‘Dividend aristocrats’ suite of ETFs, for example, incorporate criteria for dividend payout ratio, maximum dividend yield and dividend stability.

Ossiam, a specialist smart beta investment manager and an affiliate of Paris-based Natixis Global Asset Management, has announced that four of its ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange have reached their first anniversary. Whilst the firm’s equal-weight ETFs have disappointed somewhat, its minimum variance ETFs have posted exceptionally strong performance numbers.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of ETFs, has announced the anticipated listing of the PowerShares DWA SmallCap Technical Leaders ETF (DWAS) on the NYSE Arca. The fund will be the first US small-cap ETF based on the concept of relative-strength ranking. DWAS will be the fourth PowerShares ETF based on the DWA Technical Leaders strategy.

Investors poured over $2.6bn of net new assets into European Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in June 2012, raising the total for the six months to the end of the second quarter to $8.3bn, according to Source, a London-based ETP provider. Volatility ETPs continue to attract investor assets, adding over $900m in new assets in the first half of 2012. Innovation in delivering volatility exposure now offers investors more efficient medium-term investment opportunities, says Source.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the independent regulator of securities firms operating in the US, has issued an ‘Investor Alert’ to investors warning them of the features and risks of Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs). The warning comes after recent pricing discrepancies concerning two large US-listed ETNs, the JP Morgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ) and the VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short Term ETN (TVIX).

ProShares, a US-based provider of leveraged and inverse ETFs, has announced the launch of the ProShares UltraPro Financials ETF (FINU) and the ProShares UltraPro Short Financials ETF (FINZ). The ETFs have been listed on the NYSE Arca. The ProShares UltraPro Financials ETF seeks to provide 3x the daily performance of the Dow Jones US Financials Index, while the ProShares UltraPro Short Financials ETF seeks to provide 3x the inverse daily performance of the same index.