China equity exchange-traded funds, such as the European listed db x-trackers Harvest CSI300 Index UCITS ETF (DR), saw their values decline on Wednesday in line with sharp falls on domestic Chinese stock markets. The blue-chip CSI 300, which reflects the performance of 300 renminbi-denominated securities listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange (so-called A-Shares), fell a thumping 6.8% knocking the AUM of ETFs linked to it.

Stoxx, a leading provider of European indices, has announced the launch of the EURO iSTOXX 50 Style Weighted and the EURO iSTOXX 50 Style Weighted Decrement Indices which appear suitable as the basis for index-linked products such as ETFs and structured products. Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer of Stoxx, commented: “Through this unique concept, we offer market participants a smart beta index based on the Euro Stoxx 50 that takes the themes of value, quality and size into consideration.” He added: “While the Euro Stoxx 50 weights components based on free-float market cap, the EURO iSTOXX 50 Style Weighted has an innovative weighting scheme that reflects more than just the size of a company.”

Nasdaq and First Trust have collaborated to launch an ETF that tracks the performance of global firms whose operations are classified by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) as being in the cybersecurity industry. The First Trust Nasdaq CEA Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) provides a return based on the performance of the Nasdaq CEA Cybersecurity Index and is only the second ever fund to solely track firms engaged in this sector. The index includes some multi-billion dollar companies listed around the world, demonstrating the international demand for protection against future potential cyber-attacks.

Heavy rains in the US midwest delayed the harvest and pushed wheat prices higher in June. With rising certainty that a significant El Niño weather event will occur this year, what can we expect for agricultural commodity prices? In their recent commodities outlook report, ETF Securities, one of the world’s leading providers of exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), commented: “We believe that should the weather event intensify, it could be a significant catalyst for price gains in sugar, cocoa, wheat and corn. Meanwhile it will be price negative for soy and coffee.”

BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares brand of exchange-traded funds, has unveiled the iShares MSCI EMU USD Hedged UCITS ETF (EMUU LN), a US dollar-hedged version of their Eurozone equities ETF. The fund responds to investor demand for European equity exposure with hedged euro currency risk. Blackrock’s Tom Fekete, Head of Product for iShares in EMEA, commented: “Many investors are interested in the prospects for European stocks but want new ways to invest in a risk managed fashion. Europe has experienced a cyclical rebound from 2014 and equity valuations are attractive relative to those in the US. At the start of 2015, corporate earnings revisions in Europe turned positive for the first time since 2010.”

Lyxor, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has increased its range of fixed-income products with the launch of the Lyxor Fed Funds US Dollar Cash UCITS ETF (FEDF IM). Listed on Borsa Italiana, the fund tracks the Soloactive Fed Funds Effective Rate Total Return Index, providing returns comparable to a US dollar notional deposit invested at the Federal Funds Rate with re-investment of daily interest earned. The fund is denominated in euros and is expected to cross-list on the London Stock Exchange.

By Jason Hsu, Research Affiliates. Every year we invite some of the investment industry’s most creative thinkers to speak about their work at the Research Affiliates’ Advisory Panel conference. Along with Nobel laureates Vernon Smith and Harry Markowitz, the speakers at our 14th annual meeting included Campbell Harvey, Richard Roll, Andrew Karolyi, Bradford Cornell, Andrew Ang, Charles Gave, Tim Jenkinson, and our very own Rob Arnott. The richness of the speakers’ presentations beggars any attempt to summarize them; I’ll limit myself to the points I found most intriguing and illuminating. I also acknowledge that this account may reflect my own capacity for misinterpretation as much as the genius of the speakers’ actual research.

The US, Brazil and China unveiled plans this week to halt the rise of greenhouse gas emissions and increase the amount of energy they generate from renewables. This welcomed effort to stem global warming and climate change could also offer an attractive opportunity for clean energy ETFs. In order to meet these challenges all three countries will need to make significant investments in clean energy, an effort which presents a tremendous sales opportunity for renewable energy-related companies.

As the Greek debt crisis took a firmer hold on Monday, investors reacted by shifting funds away from risky securities and into safe-haven assets. The only pure-play Greece ETF, the Global X FTSE Greece 20 (GREK), was down 19% on Monday trading. ETFs related to gold, US Treasury debt and cash equivalents all benefited from the uncertainty in the market at the start of the week. Other investors looked to actively profit from the turmoil in Greece by increasing exposure to funds that track volatility indices or those using short positions on Europe. These funds may see increased trading volume next week as markets react to the result of a snap referendum being held in Greece on Sunday.