BlackRock has launched a distributing share class for the iShares Euro Stoxx 50 ex-Financials UCITS ETF on Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange. The fund tracks the Euro Stoxx 50 ex-Financials Index, which is created by stripping financials out of the widely followed Euro Stoxx 50 Index.

US investment manager Causeway Capital Management has launched two exchange-traded managed funds using Eaton Vance’s ‘NextShares’ vehicle structure. The Causeway Global Value NextShares (CIVEC US) and Causeway International Value NextShares (CGVIC US) are available to trade on Nasdaq Exchange.

Evolve Funds has launched the Evolve Active Core Fixed Income ETF on the Aequitas NEO Exchange. The actively managed fund, sub-advised by Foyston, Gordon & Payne, invests primarily in high-quality Canadian fixed income securities. Raj Lala, president and CEO of Evolve ETFs, said, “The Evolve Active Core Fixed Income ETF addresses investors’ need for fixed income strategies which help mitigate market risk and lower volatility in their investment portfolios. ”

VanEck Vectors has launched a smart beta emerging markets ETF – the VanEck Vectors MSCI Multifactor Emerging Markets Equity ETF (EMKT AU) – on the Australian Securities Exchange. Arian Neiron, head of Asia Pacific, VanEck Vectors, said, “The index EMKT tracks is a rules-based smart beta strategy that has a strong history of outperformance compared to the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index.”

Invesco has completed its acquisition of Guggenheim Investments’ ETF division. The deal follows the company’s recent acquisition of ETF provider Source, and makes Invesco the fourth largest ETF provider globally with ETF AUM over $215bn. Dan Draper, global head of ETFs at Invesco, commented, “We’re excited to add Guggenheim Investments’ complementary ETF business to our existing robust range of factor, smart beta, fixed income and equal weight ETFs.”

VanEck has cross-listed two high-yield fixed income ETFs onto Xetra: the VanEck Vectors Emerging Markets High Yield Bond UCITS ETF (HY3M GY) and the VanEck Vectors Global Fallen Angel High Yield Bond UCITS ETF (GFEA GY). The funds debuted on the London Stock Exchange last month.

BlackRock has launched the iShares US Infrastructure ETF (IFRA US) on Cboe ETF Marketplace. IFRA tracks the NYSE FactSet US Infrastructure Index, composed of equities from two groups of infrastructure companies: owners and operators, such as railroad and utility firms; and enablers, such as materials and construction companies.

Purpose Investments has launched three actively managed ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Som Seif, president and CEO of Purpose Investments, commented, “These three funds will further expand access and choice for investors seeking active, innovative strategies with a focus on risk management – characteristics we believe are essential in helping Canadians achieve their long-term financial goals.”

FTSE Russell has promoted Saudi Arabia to Secondary Emerging Market status. As a consequence, the country will now be added to the FTSE Emerging Index, underlying reference to Vanguard’s sizeable EM ETFs, with a projected overall weighting of roughly 2.7%. Khalid Al Hussan, chief executive officer of Tadawul, said the promotion “marks a significant moment in the development of our [Saudi Arabia’s] capital markets.”

Investors continued to trim equity exposure in March as the US-listed ETF industry experienced its second consecutive month of outflows ($1.7bn) – the first time since 2008 that US-listed ETFs had back-to-back months of outflows.