Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) has rolled out two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) providing exposure to Nordic and Turkish equity markets. Kai Bald, Head of Public Distribution for Passive Investments at DeAWM, commented: “The Nordic ETF will be welcomed by those investors keen to focus on, or diversify in favour of, this particular part of the continent, which has performed strongly over the past year. The Turkey ETF meanwhile brings even greater choice to our already expansive emerging markets range.”

HSBC has announced the launch of the HSBC MSCI AC Far East Ex Japan UCITS ETF (HMAD) on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse. The fund is designed to replicate the performance of the MSCI AC Far East Ex Japan Index, a market capitalisation-weighted index that tracks the performance of large and mid-cap companies across both emerging and developed Far East Asia.

iShares has expanded its range of fixed income products with the launch of the actively managed iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) on the US-based BATS Exchange. Matthew Tucker, Head of iShares Fixed Income Investment Strategy, said: “Short-duration bond ETFs can provide exposure to bonds with minimal interest rate exposure and can be used to adjust an investor’s overall duration downward.”

Analysis from ETFGI, a London-based consultancy, has found that some 3,367 institutional investors across 50 countries reported holdings in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and/or exchange-traded products (ETPs) in 2012, up 92% from 2005. Bank of America Merrill Lynch topped the list with more than $50 billion in ETF holdings.

Guggenheim Investments has added a further two funds to its popular range of defined-maturity “BulletShares” ETFs. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the newly listed Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (BSJJ) and Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (BSJK) provide exposure to high-yield corporate bonds with effective maturities of 2019 and 2020 respectively.

Euroclear Finland and Euroclear Sweden, the central securities depositories for the Finnish and Swedish markets, have made actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available for settlement and custody in their book-entry systems. The Euroclear initiative coincides with the launch from Nordea of the region’s first actively managed ETFs on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm and Nasdaq OMX Helsinki exchanges.

Nordea, Northern Europe’s largest financial services company, has introduced the Nordic region’s first actively managed exchange-traded funds: the Nordea Global Emerging Market Equities UCITS ETF and the Nordea Stable Equities UCITS ETF. The funds have been listed in Sweden and Finland on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm and Nasdaq OMX Helsinki exchanges.

Investment research firm Morningstar has published a detailed research report comparing the costs of investing in exchange-traded products (ETPs) and traditional index funds. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the costs of investing in ETPs and index funds across different asset classes and sub-asset classes. It focuses on the most visible component of the total cost of ownership: the total expense ratio, and also discusses the less visible costs of passive fund investing that investors should consider for a more complete view of the total cost of ownership.

iShares has reorganised its ETF line-up following the acquisition of Credit Suisse’s ETF business. As a result of the reorganisation, the firm has announced the closure of 15 funds, harmonised the pricing on 10 duplicate funds and lowered the fees on FTSE 100 and S&P 500 accumulating funds. Commenting, Joe Linhares, Head of iShares EMEA, said: “We completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse’s ETF business in July, and the ongoing integration process has given us a great opportunity to look across our funds and ensure we’re providing investors with the range and exposures they need today.”

MSCI, a leading global index provider, has launched a pair of new MSCI Market Neutral Barra Factor Indices targeting momentum and volatility. Created in cooperation with, and licensed to, JP Morgan, the new indices are designed to reflect the performance of a theoretically “pure” single factor return for a given region, while remaining investable, replicable and with controlled turnover.