Driven by strong demand for the firm’s bond and core range of ETFs, iShares has reported a record $140bn in net new assets during 2016, representing 37.3% of total global ETF net inflows and 13% organic company growth. Mark Wiedman, Global Head of iShares and Index Investments at BlackRock, commented: “We believe we are still in the early stages of a historic shift to ETFs and indexing more broadly. Investors continue to embrace the efficiency, quality, and value of indexing to execute long or short term investment ideas.”

ETFs tracking South Korean equities may experience a downturn in 2017 as the domestic economy has taken a turn for the worse, the country struggles to navigate a major political scandal, and the threat from north of the border has increased. As the fourth largest economy in the Asia region, South Korea still represents an important part of a balanced portfolio, but with slower predicted growth and risk creeping up, investors may wish to consider an ETF which offers better diversification.

Elkhorn Investments has launched the industry’s first US midcap sector-based ETFs on Bats ETF Marketplace. Each ETF tracks securities from the parent S&P MidCap 400 Index which have been classified according to their respective GICS sector. Referred to as the ‘sweet spot’ of investing, midcaps may provide the financial strength of comparable large caps with the growth potential of small caps. Graham Day, Head of Product and Research, at Elkhorn Investments, commented: “We are excited to bring to market what may be the last frontier of beta exposure to an important area of US equities.”

Direxion has launched the Direxion Daily Consumer Staples Bear 1X Shares (NYSE: SPLZ) and the Direxion Daily Utilities Bear 1X Shares (NYSE: UTLZ), providing single inverse exposure to the performance of US firms operating in the consumer staples and utilities sectors respectively. The firm is building out its suite of inverse US sector ETFs having previously launched funds targeting companies within the energy, technology and financial sectors.

A recent survey from Hargreaves Lansdown found that respondents expect lively currency markets in 2017 with uncertainty surrounding politics, interest rates, inflation and growth, as well as developments in Brexit negotiations and the shape of Donald Trump’s presidency, seen as the major factors leading to volatility. In the face of such uncertainty, investors may wish to turn to currency-hedged ETFs to mitigate the risk of adverse currency movements impacting their portfolio, or use currency ETFs to express tactical views.

Driven by a growing awareness of the benefits of the ETF vehicle, including diversification, lower costs and ease of tradability, global investors poured $33.6bn into investment grade corporate bond ETFs and $7.4bn into high yield corporate bond ETFs in 2016 until the end of November, according to BlackRock. However, with the Federal Reserve recently increasing their expected number of rate hikes for 2017 from two to three, the anticipation of falling bond values from rising yields may begin to stem the flow of new money into these funds.

Following net inflows of $7.2bn during November 2016, assets under management in smart beta equity ETFs listed globally reached a new record high of $497.0bn, according to latest research from ETFGI. Record levels of assets were also reached at the end of November for equity smart beta ETFs/ETPs listed in the United States at $445.0bn and in Canada with $11.0bn.

Following net inflows of $1.1bn during the month of November, assets under management for actively managed ETFs/ETPs listed globally reached a new record high of $42.0bn. Record levels of assets were also reached at the end of November for active ETFs/ETPs listed in the United States at $28.7bn, Canada at $5.6bn, and in Asia Pacific ex-Japan at $1.9bn.