Pacer ETFs has launched its first ‘Trendpilot’ bond product. The new Pacer Trendpilot US Bond ETF (PTBD US), which has listed on NYSE Arca, invests in US high-yield bonds when the outlook is perceived to be positive and allocates part or all of its capital Treasuries when the outlook is thought to be less favourable. Sean O’Hara, President of Pacer ETFs, commented, “Our new Trendpilot bond ETF gives investors exposure to potentially higher yielding fixed income assets that complement a portfolio, but with the added benefit of a risk management strategy.”

Invesco’s contingent convertible bond ETF, the Invesco AT1 Capital Bond UCITS ETF, has surpassed $500 million in assets under management. The milestone was reached on Tuesday, sixteen months after the fund’s inception on the London Stock Exchange in June last year. Jim Goldie, Head of EMEA ETF Capital Markets, Invesco, commented, “The growth of our AT1 ETF is a great example of how investors are using the wrapper to obtain exposure to segments of the fixed income market that they may not be able to access directly.”

Amundi has announced upcoming changes to the replication method of six of its euro government bond ETFs. The ETFs in question presently use a synthetic or swap-based approach to deliver the performance of their underlying indices, but, as of 15 November 2019, will switch to direct physical replication.

By Jeff Weniger, Director, Asset Allocation at WisdomTree.

Many growth stocks populate so-called momentum indexes, which own market leaders in the belief that they will keep leading.

Vanguard has reduced the fees charged on 13 of its European domiciled ETFs. The reductions vary from between two and seven basis points and are set to save investors approximately $4.2 million per year, based on current assets under management. Sean Hagerty, Head of Vanguard for Europe, commented, “For too long, investors have been poorly served with high-cost, complex investments…There is still a misconception that the more you pay for an investment, the better it performs. In reality, costs really impact the returns investor make – every pound paid in fees is a pound off investors’ returns.”

Invesco has cross-listed the Invesco NASDAQ Biotech UCITS ETF and Invesco KWB NASDAQ Fintech UCITS ETF on Deutsche Börse Xetra. The funds provide exposure to US-listed stocks from firms operating in the high-growth sectors of biotechnology and financial technology.

Tradeweb has reported strong net buying of equity ETFs on its European ETF marketplace in September, a month in which the platform experienced its second-highest total traded volume ever. Adriano Pace, Head of Equities (Europe) at Tradeweb, commented, “September marked the end of our strongest quarter yet, with total traded volume reaching €102.5bn, up €18.2bn from Q2 2019.”

Ursula Marchioni, Head of Portfolio Analysis and Solutions, EMEA, at BlackRock, lays out the arguments in favour of an index-based approach to portfolio management.

DWS has expanded its range of responsible investment ETFs with the launch of the Xtrackers ESG MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF. The fund, which has listed on LSE and Xetra, has been designed to provide exposure to emerging market companies that are considered ethical and sustainable. Manooj Mistry, DWS Head of Index Investing, said, “The expansion of our ESG Xtrackers range to cover emerging market equities will provide investors with an efficient new tool for taking exposure to this important area of the market.”

VanEck has cross-listed nine Think ETFs onto SIX Swiss Exchange. The expansion into Switzerland follows VanEck’s acquisition of Netherlands-based ThinkCapital at the beginning of 2018. The funds, which maintain primary listings on Euronext Amsterdam, offer a mix of equity, fixed income, and real estate exposure.