Euronext has unveiled plans to enhance its range of solutions for exchange-traded fund trading with the launch of a ‘Request for Size’ service. The service will enable market participants to request a price for sizeable ETF orders and consequently benefit from potential size/price improvement of the liquidity available on its central order book at any moment of the trading session. Pedro Fernandes, Head of European Exchange Traded Products at Euronext, said: “The RFS service is an addition to the range of initiatives Euronext launched in 2014 to support the fast developing ETF market in Europe.”

Global index provider FTSE has unveiled a suite of indices that will provide market participants with the ability to include China A-shares in global indices at a time of their choosing. Mark Makepeace, CEO of FTSE Group, said: “China continues to take steps to open its markets to international investors…The launch of the FTSE Global R/QFII Index Series will provide customers with the flexibility to decide when and how to include China A-shares in their global benchmarks, without making it a requirement.”

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the asset manager behind the SPDR brand of exchange-traded funds, has unveiled the first ETF in the US to track the Euro Stoxx Small Index. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the SPDR Euro Stoxx Small Cap ETF (SMEZ) provides investors with access to small-cap companies located within EU countries that have adopted the euro as their currency. The new ETF strengthens SSgA’s coverage of European equities, which also includes the SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) and the SPDR Stoxx Europe 50 ETF (FEU).

Euronext, the pan-European exchange operator, has announced that its London market has been declared a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) by the Financial Conduct Authority. The development puts Euronext London in direct rivalry with the London Stock Exchange and BATS Chi-X Europe, who are fiercely competing for primary listings ranging from equity securities, depositary receipts and exchange-traded funds. Lee Hodgkinson, Head of Markets and Global Sales, Euronext and CEO of Euronext London, said: “London is an important market for issuers and members alike and the recognition of Euronext UK Markets Limited as an RIE confirms our commitment to it as a leading international financial centre.”

Europe-listed exchange-traded products gathered $5.3 billion in May 2014, the eleventh consecutive month with positive flows, according to the latest ETP Landscape Report from BlackRock, the parent of iShares. Year-to-date, Europe-listed ETPs have gathered $25.8 billion. Ursula Marchioni, Head of ETP Research and Equity Strategy for iShares EMEA, said: “With this blistering pace of asset gathering, and the broad economic recovery across Europe, the European ETP industry looks set for a blockbuster year with the potential to reach $50 billion inflows by the end of the year and $500 billion in total assets under management by early 2015.”

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), the asset manager behind the db X-trackers brand of exchange-traded funds, is to switch a further 12 of its European listed ETFs from indirect, synthetic, to direct, physical replication. The latest switch in ETF replication methodology mainly covers exposures to the equity markets of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and represents approximately €2.5 billion in assets. It follows the successful conversion earlier this year of 18 db X-trackers ETFs from synthetic to physical replication, a move that made DeAWM one of Europe’s largest providers of physical ETFs.

Financial adviser use and recommendation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continues to grow, outpacing all other investment vehicles, according to a survey by the Journal of Financial Planning and the FPA Research and Practice Institute. The survey, conducted in March 2014, showed that 79 percent of US financial advisers now use or recommend ETFs to their clients, up from just 40 percent in 2006. No other investment vehicle has shown more growth in its use than ETFs.

Thomson Reuters has announced the launch of the Thomson Reuters CRI India 50 ESG Index, the latest addition to the Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices. Based on proprietary environmental, social and governance (ESG) data, the index will serve as a credible reference for global investors seeking exposure to Indian companies and investment portfolios with ESG standards. The index is UCITS compliant and can be licensed as the basis of an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Investment giant BlackRock, the world’s largest provider of exchange-traded funds, has rolled out a European version of its popular “iShares Core” series. The series, which consists of 14 ETFs, is designed to provide European investors with low cost access to some of the core portfolio building blocks most favoured by investors across the continent. The introduction of the European series follows the launch of similar product suites in the US in 2012 and in Canada earlier this year, and comes on the back of impressive growth and evolution in the region’s ETF market.

Warburg Pincus, the US private equity group, has formally completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Source, the London-based exchange-traded fund provider. As part of the deal, Lee Kranefuss, a former global CEO of ETF giant iShares, has joined the company as Executive Chairman. Since the initial announcement of the deal earlier this year, Source has embarked on an accelerated growth plan, increasing headcount by 20%. This, in part, has helped Source’s assets under management increase to more than $18 billion, up 20% this year, more than twice the growth rate of the overall European ETP market.