Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds, today joined Research Affiliates, a pioneer in smart beta strategies, to ring the New York Stock Exchange opening bell to recognise the 10th anniversary of the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 Portfolio ETF (PRF), the first fundamental index strategy ETF. The ETF can be considered one of the precursors to the smart beta movement we see in full swing today. “We launched PRF nearly ten years ago on 19 December 2005, which we believe was turning point in providing individual investors broad access to strategies now termed smart beta,” said Dan Draper, Managing Director and Head of Invesco PowerShares.

Vanguard, the world’s second largest exchange-traded fund provider, has expanded its low-cost ETF range with the launch of its first active ETFs on the London Stock Exchange. The funds are designed to provide broad, globally diversified equity exposure with tilts to investment factors including value, momentum, volatility and liquidity. Axel Lomholt, Head of Product for Vanguard’s International business, commented: “Vanguard has chosen to take an active approach to managing these funds by using quantitative models to select stocks and build a portfolio that targets the desired factor whereas other managers may track an index to implement a factor-based strategy.”

Deutsche Bank, the German bank behind the db X-trackers range of exchange-traded funds, is expanding its online investment platform, maxblue, to include the AnlageFinder robo-advisor. The system makes it easy for first-time investors in equities to get started. “With our AnlageFinder robo-advisor, clients can professionally put together their portfolios and optimise their investment outcomes with just a few clicks,” said Markus Pertlwieser, Chief Operating Officer, Private & Business Clients, at Deutsche Bank.

European-listed exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products have gathered a record $72.6bn in net new assets as of the end of November 2015. This figure is well above the previous year-to-date (YTD) record of $61.5bn set in 2014. Net inflows of $4.0bn for November marks the 14th consecutive month of positive net inflows in Europe. This came against the backdrop of what was a relatively benign market in terms of performance.

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), a leading global index provider, has summarised some of the key exchange-traded fund trends in Asian financial markets in 2015, and provided an outlook for 2016. This year saw inverse and leveraged ETFs become popular investment concepts, particularly in Asia. This reflects the changing market dynamics, especially the investment preference and risk appetite among Asian investors. S&P DJI expects currency fluctuations to be a major theme in 2016 and, as such, currency-hedged ETFs should continue to be favoured by global investors with wider adoption especially in Europe and Japan.

FTSE Russell, a global index provider, has announced changes to the constituents and methodology of the FTSE4Good indices following a semi-annual review of the index series. The December semi-annual review sees 40 companies being added to the FTSE4Good Global Index, while 32 are removed. This reflects the impact of FTSE Russell’s new environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings methodology. Most notable has been the news that Volkswagen AG will be suspended from the indices. The company is deemed to have misled government agencies and consumers over vehicle emissions through the application of software designed to circumvent test requirements.

FTSE Russell, a global index provider, has launched a series of multi-factor smart beta indices which track a core allocation to US equities with a range of factor tilts designed to capture improved risk-adjusted returns. The rules-based design as these indices makes them an ideal candidate as the basis for index-tracking products such as exchange-traded funds. The indices are based on the constituents of the US large-cap Russell 1000 Index and are available with either a dividend yield, low volatility or momentum factor tilt. The range is designed to meet the objectives of different investor types whether that be the need for income, reducing the variability of a portfolio or chasing after enhanced returns.

Euronext, a leading eurozone exchange, has announced a major change in the methodology used for its Low Carbon 100 Europe Index, sharpening the traditional approach to assessing companies’ CO2 emissions. Anthony Attia, Chairman and CEO of Euronext Paris, said: “As market operator, Euronext has an important role to play in channeling savings and investment into energy transition. This new methodology confirms our commitment to offering investors an increasingly relevant standard for portfolio management, and an underlying asset suitable for different index-linked products.”

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the asset manager behind the SPDR brand of exchange-traded funds, has launched three smart beta ETFs based on FTSE Russell indices. The ETFs offer core US equity exposure to investors looking for an opportunity to improve risk-adjusted returns. “The adoption of smart beta strategies has been one of the most powerful trends in investing over the recent years and investors are now rethinking their core exposures to leverage approaches that seek to bridge the gap between active and passive,” said James Ross, executive vice president and global head of SPDR Exchange Traded Funds at State Street Global Advisors.

Markit, a leading global provider of financial information services, has announced that key participants in the exchange-traded fund industry; namely, BlackRock, BNY Mellon and State Street, have accepted Markit’s ETF collateral lists for inclusion in their collateral management schedules. “A lack of standardised criteria, market opacity and the onerous management process for risk departments mean that many market participants have historically not accepted ETFs as collateral. Our lists aim to bring transparency and simplicity to the market, facilitating access to ETFs for use as collateral,” said Pierre Khemdoudi, managing director of securities finance at Markit.