Financial advisers are increasingly outsourcing the management of their client’s investments to discretionary fund managers and this, in turn, is driving the demand for exchange-traded funds. Improving access and providing a greater variety of ETFs on UK fund platforms is imperative to foster this demand. Robin Beer, National Intermediary manager at Brewin Dolphin, commented: “ETFs play a key role in delivering value to our clients. Providing advisers with risk appropriate portfolios for their clients relies on broad investment access and choice to make sure our market views are expressed in the most efficient way. We would like to see a broader group of platforms integrate ETFs into their platform offering alongside other tools to provide greater choice.”

Robo-advice is considered by the UK wealth management industry to offer the potential for efficiency gains and the opportunity to attract new business, but is also considered as threat by many. “The advent of the robo-advice age is creating significant hype and so it’s not surprising that wealth managers are considering the impact over the long-term. What we do know is that technology is here to stay, so wealth managers will need to consider how to embrace the advantages of technology whilst still emphasising the personal, trust and relationship-based parts of their value proposition,” said Janine Menasakanian, Head of Wealth for Vanguard’s UK business.

Smart beta equity exchange-traded funds gathered $3.0bn in new assets globally during October, bringing the year-to-date total to $53.7bn, according to ETF industry consultants ETFGI. Total assets under management for smart beta ETFs now stand at $399bn. “Our findings show that market cap equity ETFs are still the most popular based on AUM where they accounting for $1.79tn. But when compared on their five-year compound annual growth rates, smart beta equity products are growing significantly faster at 39.3% while market cap has been growing at 18.6%,” said Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI.

Source, a leading European exchange-traded fund provider, has appointed Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe’s largest index fund providers, as the investment manager for a new physical ETF platform. Lee Kranefuss, Chairman of Source, commented: “The new platform is all about increasing investor choice. We want to enable our investors to select the structure they prefer and are most comfortable with. Furthermore, having capabilities to launch more physical products will also allow us to target a wider investor base. Over 75% of investor flow since January 2014 has been into physical ETFs, so there is clearly strong demand for this type of replication method.”

Etho Capital, a US-based sustainable investment manager, has launched the ETHO ETF (ETHO), a broad based, diversified, socially responsible and fossil fuel-free exchange-traded fund with no exposure to the energy sector. Conor Platt, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Etho Capital, commented: “Our research shows that investing in climate-efficient companies can yield higher returns. Investors want options that prioritise both profits and the planet, and ETHO is helping fill these needs. The ETHO ETF allows investors to put their money toward supporting the most sustainable, forward-looking companies in the world whose management teams are planning for our climate in a changing, competitive landscape.”

Enhanced Investment Products (EIP), has launched a smart beta exchange traded fund providing exposure to globally listed, Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) stocks with strong dividend yield and growth potential. EIP CEO Tobias Bland said: “EIP is very pleased to launch The GARY ETF which provides investors a unique opportunity to capture growth and yield of globally listed stocks in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan). The GARY ETF is a product for both retail and institutional investors who can benefit from the award-winning analysis of CLSA’s Quant Team and the depth of expertise of the Index provider, CLSA. The GARY ETF is another milestone in the evolution of exchange traded funds in Hong Kong.”

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out to assess if UK asset managers are delivering value in a market study which will be conducted in 2016. The study is likely to cast an unflattering light on some of high-fee arrangements present in the investment industry and should provide a further tailwind to the low-cost passive and exchange-traded funds industry. Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: “The UK is a world leader in asset management. Our market study aims to ensure that both retail and institutional investors can get value for money when purchasing these services – which we expect to further strengthen the UK’s position as a major centre for asset management.

Commerzbank, a German investment bank and asset manager, has become the first issuer to list ETFs on the China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX), a newly launched exchange designed to promote greater availability of Chinese financial instruments, including ETFs, to European investors. Thomas Timmermann CEO of Asset Management at Commerzbank Corporates & Markets commented: “As the onshore Chinese markets are opening up to international investors, the market will continue to need investment solutions across a variety of asset classes. By launching these products now Commerzbank and its partners are keeping up to date with their client’s requirements.”

The Bank of China (BOC), one of China’s largest commercial banks, has launched the BOC Renminbi (RMB) Bond Trading Index in an effort to boost international investment in renminbi-denominated fixed income securities. The index can also serve as a reference for tracking assets such as exchange-traded funds, facilitating the growing importance of the Chinese debt market as an asset class for global investors. BOC chairman Tian Guoli said: “We hope the index will serve as a guide for overseas institutional investors to invest in China Interbank Bond Market (CIBM), an important reference for global central banks and regulatory authorities to understand China’s financial market.”

Amundi, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the cross-listing of the Amundi MSCI Europe Buyback UCITS ETF on Xetra and the Börse Frankfurt. This smart beta fund aims to provide exposure to European companies that are undertaking share buyback programmes. Valerie Baudson, CEO at Amundi ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta, said: “This innovative ETF adds to our smart beta range and reinforces the positioning of Amundi as a leading innovative player in the European ETF market.”