Source has added GBP trading lines to four London-listed US sector exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The move simplifies access for sterling-based investors and comes at a time when ETFs are fast gaining in popularity among all types of investors in the UK. Ted Hood, CEO of Source, said: “ETFs are now attracting a wider group of investors in the UK. We are keen to offer access to key markets and interesting investment themes and opportunities in sterling, thereby avoiding the need for separate FX transactions.”

WisdomTree, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has listed an additional 12 ETFs on the Mexican stock exchange, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV). All 12 equity ETFs are listed in the special international section of the BMV, the Sistema Internacional de Cotizaciones (SIC).

By David Stevenson – I am, I freely admit, something of an energy bore. In various columns, I’ve been banging on for what seems like an eternity about my structural bias towards the energy sector and, in particular, the energy infrastructure niche. So, given this tireless campaigning for energy-focused ETFs and funds, it won’t come as a great surprise to readers that I think that Source has done us all an enormous favour by listing Europe’s first MLP ETF.

As more and more investors lose faith in active managers, they are increasingly turning to a compelling alternative – smart beta. Combining elements of both active and passive management, smart beta strategies have enjoyed significant inflows in the past few years and continue to see growing interest from investors. The latest evidence for this comes from FTSE, a global index provider, which has announced that assets under management in ETFs linked to the fundamentally weighted FTSE RAFI index series have topped $5 billion.

The NYSE Euronext has received approval from the SEC to launch an incentive programme aimed at market makers in exchange-traded products (ETPs). It has been devised to enhance liquidity and reduce trading costs, and is expected to launch in the second half of the year. The programme offers an alternative for incentivising lead market makers (LMM) to be the primary market maker in certain ETPs selected by issuers.

Last week, Brazil officially eliminated a tax that affected foreign buyers of Brazilian government bonds. The elimination of the tax represents positive news for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to Brazilian government debt. And while there isn’t yet a pure-play Brazilian government bond ETF on the market, a number of funds are set to benefit, most notably those that provide access to emerging markets local currency debt.

Source’s latest fund, which has raced to almost $50 million in assets in less than a month, shows there’s still plenty of room for innovation in the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) space, especially here in Europe. Launched just three and a half weeks ago by London-based Source, the Source Morningstar US Energy Infrastructure MLP UCITS ETF has proved popular with investors who have funnelled millions into it.

S&P Dow Jones has announced the launch of the S&P Emerging Markets Volatility Short-Term Futures Index. The index measures the return from a daily rolling long position in first and second month futures contracts on the CBOE Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, an index measuring the implied volatility of options on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM).

Nasdaq OMX has introduced the NOMXI Benchmark Bond Index family, a new suite of indices tracking the Icelandic government bond market. The indices are based on Icelandic nominal and inflation-linked benchmark bonds that are listed and traded on Nasdaq OMX Iceland. The new indices will provide insight and transparency into the price development of benchmark bonds, which are the most liquid Icelandic government-guaranteed bonds, and are ideally suited for use as performance benchmarks or as underlyings for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have published a series of principles for improving the calculation of key benchmark indices. The principles, which relate to index users, administrators, calculation agents, publishers and data submitters, address problems identified with benchmark-setting processes and are intended to instil market confidence and guarantee benchmark accuracy and integrity. However, while the principles have broadly been accepted by industry participants, some feel they fall short in key areas.