BlackRock has announced that the iShares US Preferred Stock ETF (PFF US) – the largest preferred stock ETF on the market with $13.7bn in AUM – will change index provider in favour of ICE Data Services, the indexing division of Intercontinental Exchange. The transition to the neew index is expected to significantly broaden the investment scope of the fund. “The iShares US Preferred Stock ETF is a premier fund serving the investment community, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen as the index provider,” said Lynn Martin, President and Chief Operating Officer of ICE Data Services.

The Hong Kong subsidiary of China International Capital Corporation has launched the CICC CSI Select 100 ETF on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The fund tracks the CSI CICC Select 100 Index, a quantitative, fundamental-oriented strategy index consisting of 100 China A-shares that are considered industry front-runners with solid competitive advantages. “We are proud to provide this ‘quantamental’ product in the format of an ETF for our clients,” said Liang Hong, Managing Director and Head of CICC Research Division.

Mandated trade reporting under MiFID II has revealed record trading volumes and liquidity in the European ETF market, providing comfort to new and existing investors that European listed ETFs are an efficient and liquid way to invest. Stephen Cohen, Head of iShares EMEA at BlackRock, said, “trading volumes help prove that the ETF market is deep enough to transact effectively both on small and large scales.”

As 2018 draws to a close, David Mann, Head of Capital Markets, Global ETFs at Franklin Templeton Investments, looks back on some of the industry trends he had predicted would likely unfold this year. How many came to fruition? And which missed the mark?

Hang Seng Indexes has unveiled the HSCEI Volatility Index which reflects the expected volatility over the next 30 days of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index – a popular barometer of the performance of large-cap Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Direxion has added four funds to its line-up of leveraged and inverse sector ETFs. The funds provide triple leveraged exposure or triple inverse leveraged exposure to the daily return of the consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors of the US equity market.

Global X Funds has announced that its suite of US-listed China equity sector ETFs will adopt new indices. The funds, which currently track Solactive and Nasdaq indices, will transition to indices provided by MSCI on or around 5 December 2018. As a result of the transition, the ETFs will start to include China A-Shares.

By Nitesh Shah, Director, Research at WisdomTree.

Brent oil has fallen 23% in the past month. Fears of oil market surplus have driven the slide. The suddenness of the collapse feels eerily similar to the November 2014 experience. However, we believe OPEC will act to stem the decline at its meeting on 6 December 2018, unlike in 2014. The cartel’s experience in the 2014-2016 period was too painful for the group to want to return to an era of weak prices.

Solactive has launched the Solactive Sharing Economy Index, the firm’s latest index to tap into sources of return from thematic exposures. The index provides access to companies active in the ‘Sharing Economy’ – the umbrella term for economic activities that generally include peer-to-peer sharing of goods and services.

Mirae Asset Global Investments has launched two new ETFs in South Korea, on the Korea Exchange, under its local Tiger ETF brand. Both ETFs trade in Korean won and provide broad exposure to locally listed equities.