Lyxor has launched three new sustainability-focused ETFs, providing exposure to equities in the eurozone, the US, and globally. The funds, part of the firm’s newly unveiled “Trend Leaders” suite of ETFs, target firms with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings as determined by index provider MSCI.
Nomura Asset Management has launched the NEXT FUNDS MSCI Japan Empowering Women Select Index ETF (2518 JP). Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the fund provides exposure to high quality Japanese companies that exhibit a commitment towards promoting and maintaining a high level of gender diversity among their workforce.
Seven new ETFs have been listed on the South Korean Stock Exchange. Hanwha has issued five equity funds which track smart beta versions of the KOSPI 200 Index, while KBSTAR has issued two fixed income funds offering exposure to ten-year Korean Treasury bonds.
DWS has launched four new Xtrackers-branded ETFs, providing exposure to equities of firms with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings, as well as small current and expected future carbon footprints. The funds, which target large- and mid-cap stocks in Japan, the US, Europe and globally, harness sustainability ratings from index provider MSCI.
An increasingly assertive US foreign policy and a strengthening dollar have contributed to a global sell-off in emerging markets, with Turkey and Latin America among those suffering the biggest falls. ETFs tracking Turkish equities are down almost 15% over the month, and ETFs linked to Mexico and Latin America are down about 10% and 6% respectively. Flows into EM ETFs have also been pared.
Commenting on flows in the EMEA region, Wei Li, head of iShares EMEA investment strategy at BlackRock, said, “Fixed income flows returned to positive territory in April as $1.5bn flowed into EMEA-listed ETPs. Emerging market debt and investment grade ETPs continued to be unpopular, with outflows totalling $475m.”
Vanguard has launched the Vanguard Total China Index ETF on Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The underlying FTSE Total China Connect Index provides exposure to all of China’s equity share classes in the large- and mid-cap space. Yan Pu, head of portfolio review, Asia, Vanguard Investments Hong Kong, commented, “This ETF is the most comprehensive China ETF in Hong Kong, and will give investors a convenient tool to gain broad exposure to the world’s second largest economy.”
Greece is in much better shape than the dark days of its government debt crisis which ultimately led to it becoming the first Western country to default on its debt repayments to the IMF in June 2015. For those seeking to benefit from what one economist calls “Greek shoots of recovery”, ETFs provide a low-cost means of access.
BlackRock has launched the iShares Inflation Hedged Corporate Bond ETF (LQDI US) on Cboe ETF Marketplace. The fund seeks to mitigate unexpected inflation risk – inflation going up beyond market expectations – in a portfolio composed of US dollar-denominated, investment grade corporate bonds. This means that Inflation risk will be reduced, but investors will still be exposed to interest rate risk and credit risk.
Global gold-backed ETFs/ETPs enjoyed their strongest month of net inflows during April since early 2017, according to data from the World Gold Council. Despite a 1% drop in the gold price over the month, flows into gold ETFs remained steady throughout April leading to an increase in assets under management of 3% ($3.1bn).