MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices have announced changes to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) that will see the telecommunication services sector being broadened and renamed as communication services. The changes are set to affect ETFs that provide exposure to the telecoms, technology and consumer discretionary sectors, and will take effect in September 2018.

Solactive has launched the Solactive-ProShares Bricks and Mortar Retail Store Index, which tracks US retail companies that rely principally on in-store sales. The recently-launched ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF (EMTY US) provides inverse exposure to the index.

John Hancock Investments has launched the John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC US) on NYSE Arca. Andrew G. Arnott, president and CEO of John Hancock, commented: “Our firm’s momentum in the ETF space has been strong, and we now have $1 billion in ETF assets under management.”

ETF flows have started to chase the fund fee cuts that have become a staple of the industry in recent months, according to new research released by FactSet. The report comes in the wake of numerous announcements in the last few months of fee reductions and new ultra-low-cost funds from major players, including Charles Schwab, State Street Global Advisors, Franklin Templeton, Deutsche Asset Management and Invesco PowerShares.

Exchange-traded funds recorded €52.6 billion of inflows during October, taking the global total for 2017 to €500bn, according to research by Amundi. In Europe, inflows totalled €6.8bn for October (€80.6bn since January), with €5.8bn flowing into equity products and €1bn into fixed income products.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has agreed to buy ETF Securities’ European ETF platform known as Canvas. The news comes two days after WisdomTree announced a deal to buy ETF Securities’ European ETP business. Graham Tuckwell, founder and chairman of ETF Securities, commented, “Combining the ETF expertise and capabilities of Canvas with the scale and reach of LGIM should be transformative for existing and new customers.”

A new research note from Deutsche Asset Management argues that the most commonly used measures to assess an ETF’s liquidity may not give investors the full picture.

KraneShares has released further commentary on its recently launched thematic ETF – the KraneShares MSCI China Environment ETF (KGRN US) – which provides access to Chinese companies involved in producing environmentally beneficial products and services. Speaking about the investment case for the ETF, Jonathon Krane, CEO of KraneShares, said, “We believe Chinese companies focused on contributing to a more environmentally sustainable economy may potentially benefit from this focused initiative.”

Quality has replaced value as the factor driving US large-cap equities in 2017 so far, according to new research from FTSE Russell and OppenheimerFunds.

Direxion, the US-based leveraged and inverse ETF specialist, has launched the Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical Bull 3X Shares (PILL US). The ETF seeks to achieve 300% of the daily performance of the Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index, an index composed of 30 US pharmaceutical companies identified by NYSE’s Intellidex methodology as having the greatest potential for capital appreciation.