FTSE Russell has published the results of its first Fixed Income Country Classification Review, which kicked on in January. The review process aims to bring greater transparency to managing country inclusion to FTSE Russell’s global fixed income index offering.

BlackRock has launched a new ETF – the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia Capped UCITS ETF (IKSA LN) – in Europe. Listed on London Stock Exchange, the fund provides investors with pure-play access to Saudi Arabia’s equity market ahead of its planned upgrade to emerging market status in May.

By James E. Ross, Chairman of the Global SPDR Business, State Street Global Advisors.

Since State Street Global Advisors launched the first US-listed ETF in 1993, the industry has seen exponential growth and innovation. The fund structure was initially conceived to help provide additional pricing transparency for institutional investors. But once the novel product had been tried, tested, and found to be both flexible and resilient, investors began to see that the ETF was capable of so much more, and adoption spread.

KraneShares has launched a new ETF – the KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF (KEMX US) – on NYSE Arca, providing exposure to stocks from emerging markets excluding China. The fund complements KraneShares’ China-focused core and thematic funds, enabling investors to build tailored emerging market portfolios without duplicating their country exposure.

By Eric Dutram, Assistant Vice President, DWS

Though environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has entered the mainstream, it remains a neglected topic for many. Some still believe that the strategy is a passing trend – the flavor of the month in investing that might feel good, but at the cost of an unbalanced portfolio and possibly even lower returns as well. Fortunately for ESG investors, these are all myths about responsible investing.

Bloomberg and MSCI have partnered together to launch a series of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) fixed income indices designed for the Canadian market. Co-branded as the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Canada ESG Indices, the range covers the investment grade aggregate and corporate bond markets and is built using data from MSCI ESG Research.

New ETF issuer ProcureAM has debuted with the launch of the Procure Space ETF (UFO US) on NYSE Arca. The fund tracks the S-Network Space Index and is the world’s first ETF to provide pure-play exposure to companies linked to the space industry. “The exploration of space and the utilization of space assets has become a worldwide effort as a growing number of corporate participants look to meet the future needs of a proliferating global population,” said Bob Tull, co-Founder and President of ProcureAM. “We firmly believe the next era of space exploration is upon us, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to help investors access this space like never before.”

By Christopher Dhanraj, Head of ETF Investment Strategy, BlackRock.

While the 2019 market rebound has undone much of the damage from 2018’s year-end drubbing, the brutal selloff offers a key reminder for investors about portfolio management, specifically the importance of having defensive exposures.

New ETF issuer SoFi has launched two ETFs in the US – the SoFi Select 500 ETF (SFY US) and SoFi Next 500 ETF (SFYX US) – that provide smart beta exposure to US large- and mid-cap equities by tilting towards stocks with strong growth characteristics.

By Reka Janosik, Vice President, Risk Management and Liquidity Core Research, MSCI.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, redemptions of high-yield ETFs soared to approximately 25% of these funds’ assets under management (AUM), according to data provider IHS Markit. This wave of redemptions provided an opportunity to assess the strength of liquidity in the high-yield market.