EventShares has combined the “best ideas” of three of its actively managed, government policy-driven ETFs into a single strategy – the EventShares US Policy Alpha ETF (PLCY US). Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares, commented, “With the Policy Alpha fund, we’ve created an investment vehicle that we believe provides access to our best ideas, giving investors the opportunity to get exposure to policy without suggesting a political commitment.”

Zurich-based index provider Stoxx is to launch the iStoxx RiskFirst LDI Index family, providing a range of benchmarks for liability-driven investment (LDI) portfolios. Stoxx, which is a leading provider of indices to the ETF industry, has partnered with UK-based RiskFirst to develop the family.

Janus Henderson is to close and liquidate the Janus Henderson SG Global Quality Income ETF (SGQI US). The fund, currently listed on Nasdaq Exchange, will cease trading after the close of business on 17 May 2018.

JP Morgan Asset Management has made its ETF debut in Switzerland with the cross-listings of four products on SIX Swiss Exchange. Bryon Lake, head of international ETFs at JP Morgan commented, “In developing our ETF business, we are seeking to make JP Morgan Asset Management’s acknowledged, long-established expertise available in the ETF domain.”

JP Morgan has unveiled three fixed income indices targeting the emerging markets universe, integrating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors within their construction methodology. The launches mark the beginning of a wider venture, conceived in partnership with BlackRock, to introduce a suite of global bond indices revolving around sustainability.

Vanguard has launched its first actively managed ETFs on Australian Securities Exchange – the Vanguard Global Value Equity Active ETF (VVLU AU) and Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Active ETF (VMIN AU). The funds are managed by Vanguard’s Quantitative Equity Group and combine rules-based methodologies with an active oversight to provide targeted and consistent factor exposures.

ITI Funds, the ETF issuing arm of emerging markets specialist Da Vinci Capital Management, has cross-listed two of its Russia focused ETFs on Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX). The two ETFs – an equity fund and a bond fund – were first listed on London Stock Exchange on 22 February of this year.

First Trust Global Portfolios has launched Europe’s first blockchain ETF, the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction and Process UCITS ETFs (BLOK LN), on the London Stock Exchange. Derek Fulton, CEO at First Trust Global Portfolios, said: “We are pleased to bring to market this innovative UCITS ETF – BLOK. With an increasing number of institutions harnessing blockchain technology and applications spanning a wide range of industries, we believe the efficiency, auditability and transparency provided by blockchain offers the potential for significant growth opportunities.”

BlackRock has introduced two new currency-hedged share classes for two of its high yield corporate bond ETFs listed on Deutsche Börse. The funds offer exposure to US dollar-denominated corporate bonds and global fallen angel bonds, while the new share classes mitigate exchange rate risk relative to the euro.

DWS has reduced the fees charged on five of its Xtrackers-branded ETFs. The funds include four US Treasury ETFs and a euro cash deposit rate tracker.

“We are making our US Treasuries and EUR cash offering even more attractive for our clients at a time when, particularly with increased volatility, investors are trading more fixed income exposures using ETFs,” said Blanca Koenig, fixed income strategist at DWS.