Nineteen new ETFs or ETF share classes were listed on the London Stock Exchange in September, bringing the total number of new listings (including ETPs) to 270 year-to-date.
Eight issuers list ETFs on LSE during September
The new listings consist of 141 equity products, 75 fixed income products, 41 commodity products, 12 currency products, and one derivatives product.
And there are now 1,126 ETFs and 487 other ETPs listed on the exchange (as of September month-end), represented by 1,647 and 580 trading lines respectively across different currency, currency-hedged and distributing or accumulating share classes.
September highlights
Newcomer Tabula Investment Management launched the Tabula European Performance Credit UCITS ETF (TCEP LN). The ETF offers passive exposure to European credit through the iTraxx European Performance Credit Index which tracks the corporate credit default swap (CDS) market.
Developed in partnership with fixed income indexing specialists IHS Markit, the index offers well-diversified European credit exposure, mostly through investment grade issues but with a degree of high yield allocation as well. Credit can be issued in euros, pound sterling or Swiss francs, with issuers coming from across the European continent, including the UK.
The strategy earns a regular coupon by taking on the credit risk embedded within issuers’ bonds; however, the occurrence of certain ‘credit events’ – typically including late payment, bankruptcy and restructuring – may lead to losses. The strategy is offered with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.50%.
Tabula’s debut on LSE brings the total number of ETP issuers on the exchange to 33. It is the fifth new ETP player to enter the London market thus far this year, following launches by China Post Global, ITI Funds, Expat Asset Management, and HANetf.
Invesco launched the Invesco Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Index Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (EFIM LN), providing exposure to emerging market equities weighted according to a multi-factor process. The fund is the third product in Invesco’s range of multi-factor ETFs linked to smart beta indices developed by Goldman Sachs. The underlying Goldman Sachs Equity Factor Emerging Markets Index targets returns attributable to the momentum, value, quality, size, and low beta equity factors. It comes with a TER of 0.85%.
Invesco also introduced the Invesco Communications S&P US Select Sector UCITS ETF (XLCS LN) which provides exposure to the newly created Communications sector of the S&P 500 Index. The sector was introduced by S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI following their latest annual review of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).
Priced in-line with Invesco’s other S&P 500 sector ETFs, the new fund comes with a TER of 0.14%.
BlackRock added a similar such fund to keep up to date with the new industry classifications. The iShares S&P 500 Communication Sector UCITS ETF (IUCM LN) tracks a similar index to Invesco’s product although the two do differ in terms of their weighting caps on single constituents. IUCM comes with a slightly higher TER of 0.15%.
BlackRock also unveiled a pair of thematic ETFs – unrelated to each other – providing exposure to companies globally that are closely aligned with the themes of workplace inclusion & diversity and digital security.
The iShares Thomson Reuters Inclusion and Diversity UCITS ETF (OPEN LN) tracks the performance of approximately 100 publicly traded stocks across developed and emerging markets with the highest diversity and inclusion metrics. The fund is linked to the Thomson Reuters Global Large/Mid Diversity & Inclusion ex Controversial Weapons Equal Weight Index and comes with a TER of 0.25%.
The iShares Digital Security UCITS ETF (LOCK LN), which has a TER of 0.40%, tracks the underlying Stoxx Global Digital Security Index and consists of developed and emerging markets stocks which generate at least 50% of their revenue from the transmission, safeguarding and/or handling of sensitive data, and/or accessing data centres.
BlackRock’s fourth ETF launch during the month arose from a partnership with JP Morgan. The iShares JP Morgan ESG $ EM Bond UCITS ETF (EMES LN) provides exposure to sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds from emerging market issuers that adhere to high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
The underlying JP Morgan ESG EMBI Global Diversified Index is the product of a joint venture between the two investment titans to introduce a suite of global bond indices incorporating ESG considerations. The fund comes with a TER of 0.45%.
Lyxor also unveiled a global thematic equity ETF in the form of the Lyxor Robotics & AI UCITS ETF (ROAI LN), offering exposure to firms that stand to benefit from the growth of the robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) industries.
The fund is linked to the proprietary Rise of the Robots NTR Index created by SG Index and based on the work of futurist Martin Ford, author of ‘Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future’. Its TER is 0.40%.
Expat Asset Management cross-listed the Expat Bulgaria SOFIX UCITS ETF (BGX LN), providing exposure to the most liquid equities on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. The ETF tracks the SOFIX Index, Bulgaria’s foremost index for equity market performance, consisting of just 15 constituents. Its TER is 1.38%.
UBS, JP Morgan, and Franklin Templeton also introduced new share classes of existing funds on LSE during the month.