Invesco PowerShares has announced the launch of the PowerShares China A-Share Portfolio ETF (CHNA) on the NYSE Arca. The ETF is the first to provide exposure to the China A-shares market by investing primarily in FTSE China A50 Index Futures listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Michael Syn of SGX said: “The SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures is the only offshore futures on the China A-shares market without QFII requirements, and is the most liquid offshore exchange-traded vehicle providing exposure to China A-shares market.”

ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative exchange-traded funds, has launched a new ETF providing exposure to the most dependable dividend-yielding constituents of the S&P 500 Index. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) is linked to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, an index measuring the performance of those companies within the S&P 500 that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years.

RevenueShares, a US-based provider of exchange-traded funds, has expanded its roster of fundamentally weighted ETFs with the launch of the RevenueShares Ultra Dividend ETF (RDIV). Listed on the NYSE Arca, the fund comprises the 60 highest dividend-yielding constituents of the S&P 900, weighted by top-line company revenue. The fund is designed to capture the capital appreciation benefits of revenue-producing companies while offering income-seeking investors a higher-than-average dividend yield.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, has rolled out three new currency-hedged equity exchange-traded funds on the NYSE Arca. Linked to MSCI Hedged Indices, the funds provide exposure to Asian Pacific ex Japan, European and UK equity markets, while aiming to protect against fluctuations in the value of the US dollar and non-US currencies.

By David Stevenson – Apologies for sounding like a broken record, but I want to return yet again to the hoary old subject of smart beta and the voguish hunt for minimal volatility. Lyxor’s recent cross-listing of the Lyxor UCITS ETF MSCI World Risk Weighted (WDRL) on the London Stock Exchange has prompted me to ascertain whether the first wave of low volatility ETFs (I include minimum volatility and minimum variance ETFs in this grouping) has actually delivered on their promise.

Citi has joined the cohort of investment product providers tapping investor interest in the North America energy infrastructure space with the introduction of a new exchange-traded note providing exposure to a portfolio of 25 Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). The ETN is the second to be issued under the US investment bank’s C-Tracks brand. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the C-Tracks Miller/Howard MLP Fundamental Index ETN (MLPC) is linked to the Miller/Howard MLP Fundamental Index.

By David Stevenson – A few weeks back you may have noticed that London-based ETF Securities launched the first salvos in what I think will be an absolutely fascinating decade-long war – the inexorable rise of the White Label ETF Platform. ETF Securities’ platform, known as Canvas, looks to answer a classic conundrum – how does a traditional asset manager (be it in the hedge fund space or traditional mutual funds) look to jump into an exciting new product area such as ETFs without years of experience in that segment?

Stoxx, a leading global index provider headquartered in Zurich, has unveiled the Stoxx Global Broad Infrastructure Index, a new index which captures the performance of the largest companies in the global infrastructure industry. The index has been licensed to FlexShares, the exchange-traded funds brand of Northern Trust, for launch of the ETF on the NYSE Arca.

Commerzbank’s exchange-traded funds brand ComStage has launched two innovative new ETFs. The funds, which have been listed on the Deutsche Börse, offer exposure to large-cap China A-shares and to developed market stocks with emerging market exposure. The ComStage FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF (C024) becomes the first ETF in Europe to track the FTSE China A 50 Index while the ComStage ETF MSCI World with EM Exposure Net UCITS ETF (E130) becomes the first ETF globally to track the sophisticated MSCI World with EM Exposure Index.

By David Stevenson – In this column I want to tempt fate and suggest that now might be the time to think again about tiptoeing back into emerging markets and building exposure using ETFs. Now, long-term readers of this column in ETF Strategy will immediately start shaking their head and remind me that I’ve been a fairly optimistic type for some emerging markets for at least the last six months – over which time I’d note emerging markets stocks have started a quiet but steady rebound!