Lyxor has completed the integration of Commerzbank’s asset management business which includes €16 billion of assets under management and the ComStage suite of ETFs. The combined entity offers one of Europe’s largest ETF ranges, with over 300 products. Lionel Paquin, CEO of Lyxor Asset Management, said, “With a platform founded on ETF expertise and innovation, active asset management and a deep understanding of the German retail market, I am convinced that together we will be even better placed and better equipped to support our clients as their needs evolve”.

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management has become the latest entrant to the ETF industry with the launch of an actively managed thematic strategy targeting companies shaping the future of transportation. Introduced under the firm’s newly formed ‘SmartETFs’ platform, the SmartETFs Smart Transportation & Technology ETF (MOTO US) seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in firms that are involved in the delivery of products or services relating to autonomous and electric vehicles. The fund has listed on NYSE Arca.

Amun, a Switzerland-based issuer of exchange-traded products linked to crypto assets, has announced the launch of the Amun Tezos ETP (AXTZ SW) on SIX Swiss Exchange. The ETP provides exposure to the performance of Tezos while also earning investors a passive income. Hany Rashwan, CEO of Amun, commented, “For the first time, institutions, as well as retail investors, can invest in the public blockchain, the Tezos network with a Proof of Stake concept and consensus mechanism via our ETP”.

State Street Global Advisors has celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD US), the first US-listed ETF backed entirely by physical gold. Launched on 18 November 2004 on NYSE through a partnership with the World Gold Council, GLD solved an acute investor need for a liquid vehicle to access gold.

State Street Global Advisors has introduced a currency-hedged share class for its SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond UCITS ETF, offering exposure to local currency emerging markets debt while mitigating the effect of foreign exchange movements for euro-referenced investors. The new share class hedges international currency exposures relative to the euro on a monthly basis using one-month forward rates. It has listed on Xetra (SPFD GY) and Borsa Italiana (EMDE IM) and comes with an expense ratio of 0.60%.

Taipei-based asset manager Shin Kong Investment Trust has launched a new ETF in Taiwan providing exposure to a US sector rotational strategy developed jointly by Barclays and Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Robert Shiller. The Shin Kong Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Value ETF (00866 TT) has listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and comes with an expense ratio of 0.55%.

WisdomTree has launched a new actively managed ETF providing exposure to the mortgage-backed sector. The WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund (MTGP US) has listed on NYSE Arca and is sub-advised by Voya Investment Management. The ETF primarily targets agency-backed MBS but may also seek opportunities in other sectors of the securitized debt market. Rick Harper, Head of Fixed Income and Currency at WisdomTree, commented, “We believe MTGP may be a compelling strategic option for investors seeking a generally more stable source of income”.

By David Mann, Head of Capital Markets, Global Exchange-Traded Funds, at Franklin Templeton Investments.

The menu of types and styles of exchange-traded funds available to investors keeps growing. The Securities and Exchange Commission just approved four proposals for a new type of exchange-traded fund: non-transparent, active ETFs.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has granted preliminary exemptive relief to asset managers T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and Natixis and turnkey ETF provider Blue Tractor to offer semi-transparent exchange-traded funds. The relief paves the way for the firms to issue ETFs that employ an actively managed investment approach without being subject to a daily portfolio transparency condition.

By Dimitris Melas, Managing Director and Global Head of Core Equity Research, MSCI.

Over the last few decades, increasing global economic and financial integration promoted economic development and enabled investors to seek opportunities and spread risks across national borders.