BNP Paribas Easy has reported that its European, Japan and emerging market ‘ex-Controversial Weapons’ ETFs have seen strong inflows this year, attracting €259m, €349m and $304m of net inflows respectively year-to-date. Isabelle Bourcier, head of ETF & Index solutions within BNP Paribas Easy, commented: “BNP Paribas Easy ex-Controversial Weapons range offers a unique answer, straightforward to explain, as it reflects the most common sense criteria for investing in a responsible manner including at the retail level.”

Vanguard has announced that, as of 5 September 2017, it plans to shorten the settlement cycle process for its UCITS-compliant ETFs sold on the secondary market from three business days after the trade date (T+3) to two business days after the trade date (T+2).

National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB), a subsidiary of National Bank of Canada, has scrapped commissions charged on trades for US-listed ETFs. The move comes a year after NBDB introduced commission-free trading on ETFs listed in Canada.

By WisdomTree’s economic research team.

After getting past a variety of elections—most notably the French presidential election—without anti-market sentiment spreading throughout Europe, we have seen a relatively large shift in equity market performance. Fundamentals within Europe were allowed to drive performance as opposed to equity markets needing to be wary of Brexit or Trump-like election surprises.

A new rule designed to provide Canadian investors with greater information about ETF products has come into force. ETF issuers must now file a succinct, plain-language summary known as an “ETF Facts” document when filing a preliminary prospectus with regulators.

Deutsche Asset Management is planning to launch six US sector ETFs on London Stock Exchange in the coming weeks. The funds will track MSCI indices and will provide exposure to the energy, financials, health care, information technology, consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors of the US economy. Simon Klein, head of passive distribution, EMEA and APAC, commented: “These new sector ETFs give investors the flexibility to trade at a more granular level than region or country. As ETFs are used more tactically, this kind of granularity is important.”

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the asset manager behind the SPDR range of ETFs, has announced future changes to the name and index of the SPDR Morgan Stanley Technology ETF.

Members of New York-based Clearbrook Global Advisors – Elliott Wislar, CEO and Thomas Deegan, COO – have rung the NYSE closing bell to mark the launch of the ClearShares OCIO ETF (NYSE Arca: OCIO).

By Nizam Hamid, ETF strategist, WisdomTree in Europe.

The European macro-economic backdrop for equities has remained positive with a renewed focus on stronger underlying growth, and limited political risk compared to the first part of 2017. However, as recent market events have shown there is every reason for investors to consider efficient tools to help manage overall portfolio risk.

Gabelli Asset Management Company (GAMCO) Investors has entered into a license agreement with Precidian Investments to support the launch by GAMCO of a family of ActiveShares actively-managed, semi-transparent ETFs. “The ActiveShares structure gives [GAMCO] access to a new set of investors as the actively-managed ETF market grows,” said Mario J. Gabelli, Chairman and CEO of GAMCO. “Our agreement with Precidian adds another tax-efficient structure for delivery of our strategies.”