Iowa-headquartered Principal Financial has launched a new smart beta ETF tracking the performance of US mega-cap equities with a tilt toward lower volatility stocks. Paul Kim, managing director of ETF strategy, Principal Global Investors, commented: “Everyone likely has domestic large-cap equity exposure. USMC provides a more efficient way to get that exposure with potentially better risk-adjusted returns.”

Nebraska-based brokerage firm TD Ameritrade has announced a major increase in the scope of its commission-free ETF trading platform, tripling the number of ETFs available from 100 to 296. The expansion means TD Ameritrade now offers the largest commission-free ETF trading program in the industry.

Toronto-based asset manager Evolve Funds has launched three new ETFs in Canada, including two actively managed funds providing exposure to US equities and short duration bonds, and one index-linked ETF tracking US banking stocks. Each fund has been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

EventShares, the ETF brand of Active Weighting Funds, has launched three new actively managed ETFs on the Bats Exchange. The Republican Policies Fund (GOP), the Democratic Policies Fund (DEMS) and the US Tax Reform Fund (TAXR) select their holdings based on US government policy themes and can take long or short positions in US securities.

By Jesper Koll, WisdomTree’s head of Japan.

Japan’s upcoming election is poised to usher in a new era of policy competition and political accountability. Structural reform in general, supply-side reform in particular, is poised to accelerate.

BlackRock’s European-listed iShares Edge MSCI World Momentum Factor UCITS ETF has recorded significant inflows recently, gaining net new assets of over $500 million between 22 August and 12 October 2017.

Invesco PowerShares has unveiled a eurozone short-term high yield ETF to complement its existing $1.2 billion US-focused product. Launched in partnership with fixed income specialists PIMCO, the ETF is likely to appeal to investors who are seeking higher income than they can get from government or investment grade corporate bonds.

KraneShares has launched the KraneShares MSCI China Environment ETF (NYSE Arca: KGRN). The ETF provides exposure to companies in China’s fast-growing environmental protection industry that has rapidly grown to be the largest renewable energy market in the world.

FTSE Russell is celebrating 25 years since the launch of the FTSE 250 Index on 12 October 1992. The first ETF to track the index was launched 13 years ago. Since then, strong performance and the index’s role as a proxy for the health of the UK economy has seen ETF assets linked to the mid-cap index rise to over £1.5 billion.

Columbia Threadneedle has launched the Columbia Diversified Fixed Income Allocation ETF (NYSE Arca: DIAL), building out its smart beta ETF suite. DIAL provides a global multi-sector strategy, which is designed to serve as a core bond allocation. Marc Zeitoun, head of strategic beta at Columbia Threadneedle, commented: “DIAL’s disciplined process is designed to seek more sources of income and avoid the overconcentration found in traditional fixed income benchmarks.”