Toronto-based Horizons ETFs and its affiliate AlphaPro Management have added the Horizons Active S&P/TSX 60 Index Covered Call ETF (HAX) to their growing line-up of active covered call exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This latest fund, which uses a covered call options strategy on stocks within the S&P/TSX 60 Index, aims to provide investors with exposure to Canadian large-caps with mitigated downside risk and monthly distributions of dividend and call option income.

Lyxor has announced the launch of the Lyxor ETF MSCI ACWI Gold (GLDM), a new exchange-traded fund offering access to a global portfolio of gold mining stocks. The fund, which is based on the MSCI ACWI Gold Index, enables investors to gain exposure to the gold theme via mining companies whose fortunes are strongly tied to the price of the precious metal. The fund has been listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris and comes with a management fee of 0.50%.

Market Vectors has announced that the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO), the largest US-listed agribusiness exchange-traded fund (ETF), is to change its underlying benchmark. The fund currently tracks the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index, but will begin tracking the in-house Market Vectors Global Agribusiness Index in March.

Emerging ASEAN markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand continue to offer good opportunities for investors looking for fast-growing economies with robust fundamentals. Significant growth in the size and wealth of the middle-class, combined with an expected acceleration in infrastructure investment, helps build a compelling, multi-year case for the region’s equities. For investors looking to buy into emerging ASEAN, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provide an effective means of achieving liquid, targeted exposure at low cost.

Boost, Europe’s newest exchange-traded product (ETP) provider, has begun to roll out an initial line-up of ETPs on the London Stock Exchange. The first batch of products provide triple-leveraged long and short exposure to key European, UK, German and US equity markets. Aimed at sophisticated and experienced investors, leveraged long and short ETPs provide instant leverage to underlying markets in one single trade, making it possible to accentuate and exploit opportunities in sideways-trending markets.

Despite ongoing difficulties in Europe, German corporates continue to benefit from positive underlying domestic economic fundamentals and strong demand for their goods and services globally. For investors seeking exposure to the country’s equity market, which remains attractive on both a relative and historic basis, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) benchmarked to indices such as the blue-chip DAX or the broader MSCI Germany provide targeted, liquid access for as little as 12 basis points a year.

ETF Securities, one of Europe’s leading providers of exchange-traded products (ETPs), has marked its debut in Switzerland with the launch of an initial suite of ‘thematic’ exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The eight funds ETF Securities has launched provide investors with an alternative approach to traditional equity investing and are focused around five key themes.