Lyxor has launched three new sustainability-focused ETFs, providing exposure to equities in the eurozone, the US, and globally. The funds, part of the firm’s newly unveiled “Trend Leaders” suite of ETFs, target firms with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings as determined by index provider MSCI. 

Nomura Asset Management has launched the NEXT FUNDS MSCI Japan Empowering Women Select Index ETF (2518 JP). Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the fund provides exposure to high quality Japanese companies that exhibit a commitment towards promoting and maintaining a high level of gender diversity among their workforce.

DWS has launched four new Xtrackers-branded ETFs, providing exposure to equities of firms with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings, as well as small current and expected future carbon footprints. The funds, which target large- and mid-cap stocks in Japan, the US, Europe and globally, harness sustainability ratings from index provider MSCI.

An increasingly assertive US foreign policy and a strengthening dollar have contributed to a global sell-off in emerging markets, with Turkey and Latin America among those suffering the biggest falls. ETFs tracking Turkish equities are down almost 15% over the month, and ETFs linked to Mexico and Latin America are down about 10% and 6% respectively. Flows into EM ETFs have also been pared.

Greece is in much better shape than the dark days of its government debt crisis which ultimately led to it becoming the first Western country to default on its debt repayments to the IMF in June 2015. For those seeking to benefit from what one economist calls “Greek shoots of recovery”, ETFs provide a low-cost means of access.

Trading activity on Tradeweb’s European-listed ETF marketplace remained solid in April with total traded volume at €16.7 billion. Europe Equities emerged as the month’s most heavily-traded ETF category. Adriano Pace, managing director for equity derivatives at Tradeweb, said: “April saw the return of the equity ETF buyer, reversing the sell-off that took hold of the market in the two preceding months.”

Australian ETF provider BetaShares has launched the BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (A200 AU) on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). A200 tracks the Solactive Australia 200 Index, which provides exposure to 200 of the largest companies listed on ASX, weighted by free-float market capitalisation.

DWS Group, the asset manager recently spun out of Deutsche Bank, has introduced a euro-hedged version of its core US equity ETF on Xetra. The newly listed Xtrackers MSCI USA UCITS ETF 2C – EUR Hedged (XD9E GR) share class offers euro-referenced investors currency-hedged equity exposure to large and medium-sized US companies.

The Lyxor ETF research team has looked into the potential effects rising inflation could have on US ETF allocations for investors—specifically regarding exposures to inflation-protected bonds, commodities and energy stocks. ETF investors are well provided for when it comes to positioning portfolios accordingly.

Index provider Solactive has launched the Solactive Australia 200 Index, tracking the performance of the 200 largest companies by market capitalisation listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Timo Pfeiffer, head of research at Solactive, commented: “With the Solactive Australia 200 Index, we are targeting investors interested in gaining access to the largest corporations driving the Australian economy.”