Lion Global Investors and Phillip Capital Management, two Singapore-based asset managers, have teamed up to launch the first ETF to focus entirely on Singapore real estate investment trusts (REITs). The Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF will trade on the Singapore Exchange and will track the Morningstar Singapore REIT Yield Focus Index.

Invesco PowerShares has launched the first ETF in Europe to offer targeted exposure to preferred shares. The PowerShares Preferred Shares UCITS ETF (PRFD) is linked to the BofA Merrill Lynch Diversified Core Plus Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange. Nicolas Samaran, head of innovative product development at Invesco PowerShares, said: “With interest rates and bond yields at all-time lows, investors have really struggled to generate meaningful income. Preferred shares provide yields comparable to high-yield bonds, but from securities issued typically by more well-known companies.”

Index provider FTSE Russell has announced the results of its annual review of country classifications. The standout change is the reclassification of Poland from emerging market to developed economy, becoming the first country from Eastern Europe to attain the status. The implementation of Poland’s revised market status will commence from September 2018 and will affect ETFs such as the €1.3 billion Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF (LON: VEUR).

New York-based ETF provider Direxion is changing the underlying index of the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 1.25X Shares (NYSE Arca: LLSC). As of 1 December 2017, the fund will switch from using the Russell 2000 Index to the S&P Small Cap 600 Index.

ALPS ETF Trust has changed the underlying index for the ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (NYSE Arca: EQL). The fund previously tracked the BofA Securities Merrill Lynch Equal Sector Weight Index but will now replicate the NYSE Select Sector Equal Weight Index.

Nuveen has expanded its line of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ETFs with the launch of the NuShares ESG US Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: NUBD). The fund is the first ETF to offer broad exposure to the US investment grade fixed income market while adhering to certain ESG constraints.

Deutsche Asset Management has announced that it is renaming its range of US-listed ETFs to Xtrackers to harmonise the fund names with the recent changes to European and Asian ETFs and ETCs. Fiona Bassett, head of passive asset management, Americas, Deutsche Asset Management, commented: “As an asset manager with deep roots in Europe, it was important for our global businesses to align to better capitalize on our truly global reach.

MSCI has announced the launch of a new range of indices, the MSCI Factor ESG Target Index Series, designed to provide exposure to target factors while integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) stock selection filters. Diana Tidd, head of index at MSCI, commented: “MSCI is seen as a thought leader in ESG and factor investing, and this new suite of indexes helps our clients integrate ESG while still focusing on the benefits of Factor Investing.”

FTSE Russell has declined to follow fellow index provider MSCI by deciding not to include China A-Shares in the emerging markets classification of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series. The London-headquartered index provider said China A-Shares would remain on the watch list for possible future inclusion. Saudi Arabia has also been made wait, though FTSE Russell said the country was close to upgrade and will be assessed again in March 2018.

Infrastructure is an essential part of a functioning society. It encompasses the physical structures and services that connect the different parts of a society and enable its efficient functioning. In this article, we take a look at how investors can use thematic ETFs to gain exposure to infrastructure.