Bats has announced the planned introduction of the Bats ETF Implied Liquidity Feed, which will provide investors with a reference view of the current liquidity supporting the exchange’s listed ETFs. The feed includes a proprietary calculation of a fund’s implied liquidity and the aggregate best bid and offer of all displayed orders across the four Bats equity exchanges. Laura Morrison, senior vice president, Bats, said: “The Implied Liquidity Feed is another example of our drive to grow the ETF market, deepen liquidity and ultimately improve ETF market structure.”

Invesco has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire European ETF issuer Source. The transaction will add Source’s $25 billion in assets under management to Invesco’s existing global ETF AUM of approximately $120 billion. “We’re excited about this opportunity to build on Invesco’s 40 years of factor investing experience and our existing PowerShares ETF business, which will significantly enhance our ability to deliver meaningful solutions to institutional and retail clients in Europe and around the world,” said Martin L. Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco.

According to a global study conducted by State Street Global Advisors, the asset manager behind the SPDR range of ETFs, 68% of 475 institutions surveyed reported that the integration of an environmental, social and governance strategy had significantly improved returns. ESG-based strategies have underscored one of the most significant trends in ETF product development in recent years.

Deutsche Asset Management has announced that it will be closing and liquidating five of its US-listed ETFs due to insufficient investor demand. The five ETFs, which cover US and international exposures and include funds tracking equities and alternative investments, collectively account for just 0.1% of the $13.6bn invested across Deutsche’s US ETF platform.

State Street, a custodian and fund administrator, has announced that ETF assets under its administration have exceeded $2 trillion. The Boston-headquartered bank services 55% of the global industry’s ETF and ETP assets, according to analysis from ETF industry consultants ETFGI. Its biggest client iShares, the world’s largest ETF issuer, accounts for most of the assets.

Assets invested in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in the United States have reached a new record high of $2.798 trillion at the end of Q1 2017, following strong net inflows of $44.4 billion during March, according to ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

Investors should avoid looking exclusively at fund fees when selecting exchange-traded funds, according to a panel of industry experts who addressed an event held by HSBC last week. The speakers explained that while choosing an ETF with a competitive fee structure is undoubtedly important, investors should not discount the tracking precision of the fund.

MarketGrader and China Securities Index Co (CSI) have announced a partnership to develop a family of smart beta indices tracking the China A-shares market. The indices will use a growth at a reasonable price (GARP) stock selection methodology to identify financially strong companies in the A-shares universe that are also considered to possess robust growth potential. The firms intend to license the indices for the creation of future investment products including ETFs.

By James Butterfill, head of research & investment strategy at ETF Securities.

The market’s reaction to the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency has moved in several phases: enthusiasm, confusion and disappointment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to review a decision it made last month to deny a listing application for an ETF that tracks the price of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. News of the SEC filing on 24 April pushed bitcoin close to its all-time high.