The International Securities Exchange (ISE), a US-based options exchange and index provider, and SecuredGrowth Quantitative Research (SGQR), a financial research company, have announced plans to develop a series of indices that combine the performance of popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with a proprietary, so-called ‘SecuredGrowth’, process to enhance the return.

Stoxx, a global index provider best known for its suite of European equity benchmarks, has announced that the Stoxx Europe 50 Index has been licensed to ICBC Credit Suisse to serve as the basis for a new exchange-traded fund (ETF). It is the first time that the index, which tracks the performance of 50 of Europe’s largest companies, has been licensed to underlie an ETF in China. Outside of China there are five ETFs based on the index, available from iShares, SPDR, ETFlab, Amundi and Source.

Vanguard has revealed that its Canadian line-up of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management. Atul Tiwari, principal and managing director of Vanguard Investments Canada, said: “We are grateful for the trust that financial advisors and their clients have placed in us.” Vanguard entered the Canadian market in December 2011, listing six ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It added an additional five in November 2012 and has seven more planned.

Nasdaq OMX Global Indexes’ acquisition of the ‘Dividend Achievers’ family from Mergent has proved astute. Since the deal completed in December 2012, assets under management linked to the indices have increased 35% to $19.0 billion from $14.1 billion. With the acquisition, Nasdaq OMX catapulted itself into one of the largest providers of dividend indices in the world, based on benchmarked assets.

AdvisorShares, a US-based sponsor of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has unveiled its latest collaborative effort: the AdvisorShares Athena International Bear ETF (HDGI) listed on the NYSE Arca. The fund, managed by AthenaInvest Advisors, seeks capital appreciation via a short-only international equity strategy and tactical overlay. AthenaInvest utilises a behavioural factor-driven investment process to determine potential short candidates based on pricing distortions created by emotional investors.

Guggenheim Investments, a US-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has expanded its suite of defined-maturity corporate bond ETFs with the launch of two new BulletShares funds on the NYSE Arca. The new funds, which are linked to indices developed by Accretive Asset Management, provide access to a diversified portfolio of corporate bonds with effective maturities in 2021 and 2022 respectively – the years in which the funds themselves mature.

iShares, the world’s largest provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has expanded its smart beta ‘factor’ ETF suite with the launch of the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) on the NYSE Arca. The new ETF is linked to the MSCI USA Quality Index and provides exposure to US stocks representative of the quality factor. It joins the firm’s existing line-up of factor ETFs, which provide investors with index-based access to different factors including momentum, size and value.

BlackRock, the firm behind the iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business, has reported second quarter 2013 net income of $729 million, up 32% from a year ago. Revenue increased 11% from the second quarter 2012 to $2,482 million. The iShares business saw moderate net outflows of $963 million, with assets under management ending the quarter at $774.5 billion. This part of the business generated $723 million in base fees over the quarter, representing 35% of the firm’s total base fee revenue, the largest share of any business division.

By David Stevenson – Every once in a while a simple, smart idea comes along and gets deluged with lots of money. Cue Guggenheim’s range of BulletShares ETFs in the US. Linked to a range of indices developed by Accretive Asset Management, these corporate and high-yield bond ETFs take the simple idea of a target-date lifestyle fund and turn it on its head – you want diversified income but you also want to know that you’ll get your money back at a set date in the future, then why not invest in a BulletShares ETF?

The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published its final report on financial benchmarks. The report, entitled ‘Principles for Financial Benchmarks’, offers a framework of principles for the creation and administration of financial indices and benchmarks. The principles are a direct consequence of recent investigations and enforcement actions regarding attempted manipulation of major interest rate benchmarks, most infamously Libor, which raised concerns over the fragility of certain benchmarks, caused by vulnerabilities in their methodology, transparency and governance arrangements.