Northern Trust’s exchange-traded fund division FlexShares has introduced two new funds that target the equities of firms listed in the US or globally with high environmental, social and corporate governance scores. The FlexShares STOXX US ESG Impact Index Fund (NASDAQ: ESG) and FlexShares STOXX Global ESG Impact Index Fund (NASDAQ: ESGG) seek to provide enhanced risk-adjusted returns by reducing portfolio exposure to specific stocks with operational risks associated with poor ESG scores.

Taiwan Index Plus (TIP), a subsidiary of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, has launched two new smart beta indices focusing on locally-listed dividend-paying equities. The ‘TIP TAIEX+ Dividend Appreciation 100 Index’ and the ‘TIP TAIEX+ Dividend Appreciation 150 Index’ target dividend-paying equities while weighting constituents by fundamental metrics. The new indices pave the way for the development of investment products such as exchange-traded funds to cover the space and will likely find favour catering to long-term investors such as pension funds in Taiwan and around the world who are seeking stable returns.

Invesco PowerShares has launched the PowerShares DWA Momentum & Low Volatility Rotation Portfolio (Nasdaq: DWLV), which switches its exposure between different segments of US equities, international equities, or cash depending on momentum signals in the market, while also adding exposure to the low volatility factor. The fund’s index is based on Dorsey, Wright & Associate’s expertise in relative strength analysis, a momentum technique that relies on unbiased, unemotional, objective data, rather than biased forecasting and subjective research.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted approval to petitions requesting the streamlining of the listing process for certain actively managed exchange-traded funds. The move allows active ETFs fitting a generic mould to avoid filing with the SEC detailed descriptions of their funds, and for the SEC to approve the filing, before the exchange can begin listings. Chris Concannon, CEO of Bats Global Markets, said: “This is a pivotal moment for the ETF industry as the introduction of these standards will help issuers of all sizes bring innovative funds to the market in weeks instead of months, and with more certainty of approval. In turn, investors will gain access to a much broader range of low-cost, high-performance investment products.”

New York-based investment adviser ARK Investment Management has launched the first US-listed exchange-traded fund to invest in companies operating in the 3D-printing ecosystem. The ARK 3D Printing ETF (Bats: PRNT) invests in companies from developed markets that are involved in 3D-printing hardware, computer-aided design & simulation software, service centres, scanning and measurement, and 3D-printing materials. Investors in the fund stand to benefit from the potential for 3D-printing to revolutionize manufacturing with global management consultant McKinsey projects a growth from $5.2bn to up to between $180bn and $490bn by 2025.

US-based asset manager RiverFront Investment Group has launched the RiverShares series of asset allocation model portfolios, consisting solely of actively managed exchange-traded funds sub-advised by RiverFront. The firm has partnered with First Trust Portfolios and ALPS to offer the ETFs, which can be purchased as individual products or used within a RiverShares model. Michael Jones, RiverFront’s chairman and chief investment officer, commented: “We are very excited to bring to the marketplace an innovative new set of asset allocation solutions. These portfolios are designed to meet the needs of investors seeking active management of their ETF portfolios, but in a platform that makes greater use of the inherent tax advantages of the ETF structure.

Boston-based investment manager O’Shares Investments has announced that the O’Shares FTSE US Quality Dividend ETF (NYSE Arca: OUSA) outperformed the S&P 500 by 10.5% in the 12 months since its inception on 14 July last year. Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Shares ETF Investments, commented in a statement: “We are very pleased with the performance OUSA has generated for investors, getting over 90% of market upside performance and less than 50% of the market downside performance during the period, essentially winning by losing less.”

Canadian exchange-traded funds provider Horizons ETFs has launched the Horizons Global Currency Opportunities ETF (Toronto: HGC), an actively managed fund providing exposure to worldwide currency markets. The ETF is sub-advised by CIBC Asset Management, one of Canada’s largest asset managers with over $26bn in currency-related assets, as of 30 June, 2016. “With one of the largest currency investment teams in North America, by AUM, we chose to partner with CIBC Asset Management on this ETF because of their diligent approach to selecting currency investments that have the potential for greater returns, without adding excess risk,” commented Steve Hawkins, Co-CEO, Horizons ETFs.

New York-based ETF provider Global X Funds has launched the Global X Conscious Companies ETF (NASDAQ: KRMA) which draws on dozens of sources to identify companies that have demonstrated a long term focus on creating positive outcomes for a variety of stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, suppliers, and stock and debt holders. Alex Ashby, Director of Product Development at Global X, commented in a statement: “Investors are increasingly looking at socially responsible investing not only as a values-driven decision, but also as one that can potentially lead to better long term returns.”

Exchange-traded fund provider VanEck has launched the VanEck Vectors EM Investment Grade + BB Rated USD Sovereign Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: IGEM), a new ETF designed to give investors exposure to investment grade US dollar-denominated sovereign emerging markets bonds. Fran Rodilosso, Portfolio Manager for Fixed Income ETFs with VanEck, commented in a statement: “By focusing on the higher rated subset of the market, IGEM can potentially provide yield enhancement, without adding a significant amount of credit or currency risk, to income-oriented investors’ portfolios.”