Global ETPs gathered $38.7 billion in net new assets during September, according to BlackRock’s latest ETP Landscape Report, with significant flows recorded for those offering exposure to US and broad emerging market equities.
BMO Asset Management has launched five new ETFs in Canada, including the country’s first ETF to offer access to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller’s cyclically adjusted price-earnings (CAPE) methodology.
ETF and index investing “supports vibrant capital markets”, argues BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, in a research paper released in response to some commentators’ warnings about the perils of passive products, including ETFs.
In its third quarter 2017 financial results, BlackRock has announced its total assets under management (AUM) is closing in on $6 trillion ($5.977tn) after its iShares range of ETFs recorded strong performance between July and September. Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, commented: “Our continued investment in the iShares franchise is driving accelerated growth and increased market share.”
Tradeweb has reported that the end of September marked the third busiest quarter for its European-listed ETF marketplace since its launch in October 2012. Adriano Pace, managing director for equity derivatives at Tradeweb, said the performance reflects the efficiencies of ‘Request For Quote’ (RFQ) trading as the ETF industry is bracing itself for the new regulatory landscape under MiFID II.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has released its monthly ETF roundup for September 2017. Total on-exchange value traded for ETFs during the month was £28.2 billion through 289k trades, up 18% compared to September 2016.
Aviva has announced it is to buy a majority shareholding in robo-advisor Wealthify. The digital investment platform was launched in April 2016 and uses algorithms to invest customers money in passive products including iShares ETFs from BlackRock. Richard Theo, co-founder and CEO of Wealthify said Aviva’s investment “reflects a clear shift in market demand for high-quality, technology-enabled financial services solutions like Wealthify”.
By Nizam Hamid, ETF strategist at WisdomTree in Europe.
Investors often ask how our individual Funds can form part of a diversified portfolio, or how to combine our Funds to gain diversified exposure to certain styles or regions. With this in mind we have constructed a diversified global model portfolio focusing on equities.
MSCI, one of the leading providers of equity indices to the ETF industry, reports that all of its factor-based indices generated a positive return in September with the best-performing factor for the month being momentum (2.6%) and the worst, minimum volatility USD (0.1%).
Netherlands-headquartered Robeco has unveiled seven new multi-factor equity indices, building on the asset manager’s existing quant-based line-up. The indices, which target global, global developed, emerging markets, Europe, US, Asia-Pacific, and Japan, may be used as the basis for product development, including ETFs.