Copia Capital Management, the discretionary fund management division of Novia Financial, has launched a range of ETF managed portfolios purpose-built for decumulation of assets during retirement. The portfolios are designed to mitigate what is considered to be the key retirement concern – shortfall risk, the risk of running out of money. Henry Cobbe, Head of Copia Capital Management, said: “Decumulation is very different from accumulation. It has different objectives, different risks and requires a different investment approach. We don’t think it is right to recycle old thinking into this new world.”

By Thomas Verbraken, Vice President, Risk and Regulation Research at MSCI.

Ten months after the United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union, the negotiations over the UK’s departure are about to begin. While the process could take up to two years, institutional investors may seek to assess how Brexit may affect their portfolios. Using MSCI’s stress-testing capabilities, we examined three hypothetical scenarios that we summarize as a rough Brexit, a smooth Brexit and a Brexit that benefits the UK.

Euronext and corporate social responsibility ratings firm Vigeo Eiris have launched the CAC 40 Governance Index, a thematic index that rates companies in the CAC 40 Index, the flagship French equity market benchmark, based on their corporate governance performance.

Solactive has launched two new indices in the infrastructure space, offering exposure to investable baskets of infrastructure companies from developed markets while screening for high dividend yield and low volatility. The Solactive Global Infrastructure High Income Index and the Solactive Global Infrastructure Income Index may serve as the basis for future investment products including ETFs.

Following the Dutch election results and the Fed rate hike, Antoine Lesné, Head of SPDR ETF Strategy & Research, EMEA, comments on the options for investors. In summary, he says: Given the current investment backdrop, investors will likely seek defensive investment options within each asset class; Within sectors, European Financials, US Materials and Global Technology are tipped to outperform; and within fixed income, the Fed’s current rate outlook appears positive for local currency bonds.

ETFGI, a London-based ETF industry consultant, has reported that assets invested in smart beta ETFs/ETPs listed globally reached a new record high of $560 billion at the end of February 2017, up from $534bn at the end of the previous month. Record levels of assets were also reached for smart beta equity ETFs/ETPs listed in the US ($499bn), Europe ($39bn), Canada, (13bn) and Asia Pacific ex-Japan ($5bn).

NYSE Arca, the largest listing venue for ETFs in the US, suffered a trading glitch on 20 March 2017, affecting the closing auctions of hundreds of ETFs. The problem followed a system upgrade that morning and forced the exchange to suspend trading and cancel open orders for all listings at 4.13pm that afternoon. Four of the five largest ETFs in the world, including the iShares S&P 500 Core ETF (NYSE Arca: IVV) and the Vanguard Total Market ETF (NYSE Arca: VTI), were among those affected.

FTSE Russell has launched two new sector-specific indices tracking firms listed on Singapore Exchange. The FTSE ST Consumer Goods & Services Index tracks large, mid and small cap companies operating in the consumer goods or services sectors, while the FTSE ST Consumer Goods & Services Liquid 20 Index goes a step further by applying additional liquidity-screening rules. The indices may serve as the underlying for future investment products, including ETFs.

TD Asset Management has launched a suite of low-cost managed portfolios made up of TD index-tracking ETFs. Paul Orlander, President of TD Mutual Funds, commented: “These portfolios have been carefully constructed by TDAM’s team of investment professionals and are designed to act as diversified, low-cost investment vehicles to meet a wide range of investor needs.”

Liquid Capital has become the 22nd market maker in the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. The firm now quotes prices for a total of 24 fixed income ETFs, primarily those offering government bond exposures. The London-based company is part of the Liquid Capital Group which operates globally with further offices in Sydney, Hong Kong and Chengdu and trades on over 25 exchanges. It has been a trading participant of SIX since October 2016.