S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) has launched the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Diversified High Beta High Dividend Index which is designed to measure the performance of high yielding stocks with high historical betas constructed from an eligible universe of companies which operate responsibly with regards to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. “We are excited to launch a smart beta ESG index that will allow investors to measure performance of sustainable firms that also have desirable dividend income and tradability characteristics,” said Tianyin Cheng, Associate Director, Strategy Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The rising dominance of exchange-traded funds as the investment vehicle of choice looks set to continue as demand for more sophisticated products picks up, according to a survey from ETF.com, a US-based exchange-traded fund news wire, and Brown Brothers Harriman, a leading ETF services provider. “In the current US investment environment, investors are seeking access to lower cost strategies that provide alpha, diversification and lower risk,” said Shawn McNinch, Senior Vice President and Global Head of ETF Services at BBH. “As a result, ETF sponsors have continued to evolve their product sophistication by launching more smart beta, active, and currency-hedged ETF products.”

WisdomTree, a leading provider of currency-hedged exchange-traded funds, has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire GreenHaven Commodity Services, a provider of commodity-based ETFs. This acquisition facilitates WisdomTree’s entrance into the commodities space in the US, a market in which the company has already had success with in Europe through their Boost ETP platform. WisdomTree CEO and President, Jonathan Steinberg, commented: “WisdomTree’s planned acquisition of these unique commodity funds emphasises our continued commitment to providing differentiated solutions in response to developments in the market and investor preferences.”

Janus Capital Group, a global investment manager, has announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for two innovative smart beta exchange-traded funds, based, in part, on their pre-existing small- and mid-cap growth strategies. “These ETFs are the result of a great opportunity to marry Janus’s expertise as a fundamental manager in the small-cap arena, with our robust quantitative abilities in exchange traded products. After extensive development work we look forward to offering these innovative ETFs,” said Nick Cherney, Senior Vice President, Head of Exchange Traded Products of Janus Capital Group.

As the Paris 2015 Climate Conference approaches, the interest in investment strategies based around carbon-aware exchange-traded funds and indices has been on the rise. The latest Canadian index series from S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), a leading financial market index provider, further evidences this shift in investor demand. “S&P Dow Jones Indices is excited to bring its expanding series of carbon efficient and fossil fuel free indices to the Canadian market and its leading benchmark, the S&P/TSX 60,” says Julia Kochetygova, Head of Sustainability Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

ZyFin, a Singapore-headquartered asset manager with advisory operations based in India, has announced plans to launch the world’s first Indian fixed income ETF, the LAM Sun Global ZyFin India Sovereign Enterprise Bond UCITS ETF. The fund will provide an attractive option for global fixed income investors to address their thirst for higher yields in an otherwise challenging market. Nina Shapiro, Senior Advisor at ZyFin commented: “With high GDP growth, reducing inflation and budget deficits and a progressive government focused on economic development, the investment case for India is compelling and this is a fantastic time for ZyFin to be at the forefront of bringing India closer to global investors.”

WisdomTree, a leading currency-hedged exchange-traded fund issuer, has announced the launch of multiple new share classes across a range of its existing smart beta funds, adding increased flexibility and improving access for investors. “This increased range of new currency hedged and unhedged share classes fit into the many ways that our clients manage their portfolio currency exposures,” said Hector McNeil, Co-CEO of WisdomTree Europe. “In addition investors will have the opportunity to switch efficiently between share classes, allowing them to maintain their core equity exposure whilst offering the flexibility to implement their view of currency movements.”

AlphaClone, the investment advisor behind the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF, has announced the launch of the AlphaClone International Downside Hedged Index, which applies their alpha-seeking investment strategy, culled from the investment ideas of established hedge funds, to equity markets outside the US. “Pursuing the potential for alpha is even more important today for long-term investors, given the anaemic growth forecasted for equities and bonds over the next several years,” says Maz Jadallah, CEO of AlphaClone.

ETF Securities, a London-headquartered exchange-traded fund provider, has listed two short and leveraged (S&L) exchange-traded products based on Hong Kong-listed Chinese equities. Commenting on the launch, Massimo Siano, Head of Southern Europe, ETF Securities, said: “We are listing our 3x China Equity ETPs on Borsa Italiana in response to a strong demand from our Italian clients. Investors’ appetite for Chinese equity exposure continues to grow in reaction to heightened volatility and we believe these products provide opportunities to trade on a short-term basis with a competitive total cost of ownership”.

BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares brand of exchange-traded funds, has expanded its range of currency-hedged ETFs with the introduction of five smart beta funds based on MSCI indices. Four of the five funds are currency-hedged versions of existing minimum volatility ETFs. These funds offer US dollar-based investors international equity exposure targeted at companies which have historically exhibited relatively low levels of price variation. The fifth fund offers currency-hedged exposure to European small-capitalisation stocks.