Twelve new ETFs or ETF share classes were listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2019, taking the total number of ETF listings on the exchange to 1,241, available through 1,802 different share classes.

Twelve new ETF listings went live on the LSE in September.

ETF providers active during the month included BlackRock, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Legal & General Investment Management, Lyxor, WisdomTree, and Vanguard.

Highlights

BlackRock introduced a currency-hedged share class for its broad maturity US Treasury bond ETF. The iShares $ Treasury Bond UCITS ETF GBP-Hedged (GOVP LN) comes with an expense ratio of 0.10% and hedges exposure between the US dollar and pound sterling, the share’s trading currency. The fund is linked to the ICE US Treasury Core Bond Index which covers fixed-rate US Treasury securities with maturities between one and thirty years and par amounts outstanding of at least $300 million.

GSAM made its ETF debut in Europe with the launch of the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta US Large Cap Equity UCITS ETF (GSLC LN). The fund is effectively a Dublin-domiciled version of the firm’s flagship multifactor ETF in the US which houses over $6.5 billion in assets under management. It tracks a proprietary index that seeks to systematically exploit four well-established equity factors – value, momentum, quality, and low volatility – within the US large-cap equity market. The ETF comes with an expense ratio of 0.14%.

LGIM partnered with London-based index boutique Foxberry to launch the L&G Europe Equity (Responsible Exclusions) UCITS ETF (RIEG LN). The fund is linked to the Foxberry Sustainability Consensus Europe Total Return Index which aims to provide investors with a dynamic approach to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing while maintaining broad market exposure to European developed market stocks. Unlike the majority of ESG indices on the market which follow systematic rules-based methodologies, the Foxberry index deploys a committee-based approach to determine index constituents. The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.16%.

Lyxor built out its yield curve ETF offering with the launch of the Lyxor US Curve Flattening 2-10 UCITS ETF (FLTU LN). The fund tracks the Solactive USD Daily (x7) Flattener 2-10 Index which provides leveraged (x7) exposure to a flattening of the US Treasury yield curve between two- and ten-year yields. It complements an existing Lyxor ETF that targets a steepening of the US Treasury yield curve. Both ETFs come with expense ratios of 0.30%.

WisdomTree launched a new thematic equity ETF in Europe, providing exposure to rapidly growing cloud computing companies. The WisdomTree Cloud Computing UCITS ETF (WCLD LN) tracks the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index which targets US-listed stocks and American Depository Receipts from cloud computing companies that have grown their revenues by at least 15% in each of the past two years. The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.40%.

Vanguard continued the roll-out of accumulating share classes on its ETF range with the launch of new capitalizing trading lines for five of its European listed ETFs. Four of the funds provide broad beta exposure to large- and mid-cap stocks from the Japanese, developed Asia Pacific ex-Japan, developed global, and emerging market equity universes. The fifth targets higher dividend-paying stocks from developed and emerging markets. The ETFs collectively house over $5.2 billion in AUM and are all linked to FTSE Russell indices.