Morningstar has released its latest Active/Passive Barometer, a semi-annual report that measures the performance of US active funds against passive peers, such as ETFs, in respective Morningstar categories. The key takeaway from the report is that the average dollar invested in passive funds typically outperforms the average dollar invested in active funds.

First Trust gathered the largest net inflows into actively managed ETFs/ETPs during July with $504 million net new assets created, representing over a quarter of the $1.9 billion net inflows gathered globally over this period. According to research from ETF industry consultant ETFGI, other firms attracting significant net inflows during the month included Lyxor with $271m and Source with $153m.

ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan have gathered $4.3 billion in net inflows during July, bringing total assets invested in Japan-listed ETFs/ETPs to a new record high of $225bn, according to ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

New issuer Spinnaker ETF Trust has rolled out its first two ETFs on NYSE Arca under the Fieldstone brand name. The Fieldstone Merlin Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF (FMDG) and the Fieldstone/UVA Unconstrained Medium-Term Fixed Income ETF (FFIU) are both actively managed and give investors exposure to US large-caps and global fixed income respectively.

By Nicolas Rabener, Founder, FactorResearch

BlackRock estimates that smart beta ETFs will reach $1 trillion in assets by 2020 and $2.4 trillion by 2025. Smart beta is based on factor investing research, which categorises stocks into groups with similar attributes. Although smart beta is based on factor investing and many investors take smart beta as proxies for factors, these are fundamentally different products. In this short research note we will compare the returns of smart beta ETFs and factors.

By Dr. Jan-Carl Plagge, Head of Research – STOXX

Recent political events such as the US and the French election were found to have had a major impact on stock markets. While the impact of such events may often be short-lived, Brexit will remain on the agenda as the country is negotiating its withdrawal from the European Union over the next two years. In this context, investors face a number of challenges when considering such political events in their portfolio management.

Invesco has announced it has completed its acquisition of European ETF provider Source. The transaction sees Invesco add Source’s $26 billion in assets under management to Invesco’s own existing global ETF AUM of approximately $120bn. Martin L. Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco, commented: “The addition of Source’s specialist expertise and product innovation to Invesco’s strong and diversified range of investment capabilities will further enhance our ability to meet the investment needs and outcomes our clients seek.”

Exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products listed in Europe gathered net inflows of $10.2bn in July, marking the 33rd month of consecutive inflows for the region, according to data from ETF industry consultant ETFGI.

Net inflows into US-listed exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products totalled $28.0bn in July, bringing year-to-date flows to $275.4bn, more than double the net inflows of $112.2bn accumulated at this point last year and just shy of the $278.7bn gathered in all of 2016. According to data from ETF industry consultant ETFGI, July’s net inflows marked the 17th consecutive month of positive net new assets for the region.

By John Jacobs and Richard Keary, ETF BILD Project

The industry has done a commendable job of explaining how to launch an ETF; we want to delve into the important activities that are a must for creating a successful ETF after it has been launched.