ETF provider VanEck Vectors has expanded its presence in Europe with the cross listing of four ETFs on the Borsa Italiana. Philipp Schlegel, international business development at VanEck, said: “Within recent years, Borsa Italiana has recorded a significant rise in average daily ETF trades on the Italian stock exchange. By listing our ETFs on Borsa Italiana, we are responding to investor demand for access to local trading.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be sending out contradictory signals regarding the use of leveraged ETFs following the approval and subsequent review of two new quadruple leveraged ETFs.

Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in Japan have reached a new record high of $209 billion at the end of April 2017, despite monthly net outflows of $837 million, according to analysis by ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

Vanguard has launched a new investment service for retail investors in the UK that provides direct access to the firm’s ETF range as well as Vanguard’s other funds for an administration fee of just 0.15% per annum. Sean Hagerty, head of Vanguard’s European business, commented: “We aim to deliver investors the highest value investment products and services available with an unwavering commitment to lowering the cost of investing in the UK.”

Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in Europe reached a new record high of $658 billion at the end of April 2017 surpassing the prior record of $640bn set at the end of Q1 2017, according to analysis by ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published a discussion paper on the exchange-traded funds industry to facilitate engagement between the central bank and industry participants on issues related to ETFs.

Allfunds, Europe’s largest fund platform, with more than €280 billion in assets under management, is to launch a new ETF service from 1 June 2017 to supplement the 52,000 funds from 540 fund managers already available to investors.

Fourteen new ETF listings (including share classes) debuted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) during April 2017, bringing the total number of ETF and ETP listings on the exchange to 905 and 450 respectively. The month saw new listings from Fidelity, iShares, Deutsche Asset Management and VanEck.

Only 28% of active funds in Europe outperformed their traditional benchmarks in 2016, according to research from European ETF provider Lyxor, adding support to passive trackers such as ETFs in the active vs. passive superiority debate.

Exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in the US gathered $36.1 billion in net new assets during last month, a record amount for April, according to analysis from London-based ETF industry consultant ETFGI.