Investment management boutique Summit Water Capital Advisors, a specialist in global water investment strategies for 30 years, has launched a smart beta exchange-traded fund offering investors exposure to globally-listed equities of firms operating in the water utilities or industrials sectors. The Summit Water Infrastructure Multifactor ETF (NYSE: WTRX) tracks the Summit Zacks Global Water Index, created in collaboration with Chicago-based index provider Zacks Index Services, and adopts a dividend-weighted approach thereby increasing the yield of the fund.

Global net flows into exchange-traded products hit $55.2bn in July, a record month for 2016, according to data from BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares range of exchange-traded funds. Equities were the strongest performing asset class during the month as total global equity inflows reached $34.0bn, supported by relatively resilient markets and lower-than-expected signs of stress in the immediate aftermaths of the Brexit vote. US equity inflows were the main contributor, netting $32.0bn.

Online wealth management firm Novia Global has teamed up with custody and settlement service firm Winterflood Business Services to offer multi-currency ETFs (including Sterling, US dollar and Euro) on its platform. The move will open up a broader range of investment options and asset classes to international investors. The total number of ETFs on offer through Novia’s platform now stands at 100 physically backed and synthetically replicated ETFs from nine providers. Bill Vasilieff, CEO of Novia said that the service has been implemented on the back of demand for this type of product and from Discretionary Fund Managers (DFMs) wanting US denominated ETF exposure.

Actively managed ETFs and ETPs listed globally saw assets under management hit a record high of $38.2bn at the end of June 2016, according to ETF research consultancy ETFGI. The milestone was reached on the back of strong inflows during June 2016 with active ETFs/ETPs benefiting from $724m flowing in. Fixed income ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows during the month with $296m, followed by mixed asset class ETFs/ETPs with $247m, and equity ETFs/ETPs with $145m. The success of the active ETF/ETP space will likely be viewed as a testament to the growing popularity of ETFs/ETPs as investment vehicles rather than as supportive of the active management space.

Stocks have outperformed commodities for the first time since April following commodities biggest three-month gain, according to a note from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The commodity rally ended in July with commodity indices producing some of the worst performances since records began in the 1970’s as a stronger dollar and declining probability of a rate hike this year put pressure on the asset class. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) lost 6% in July, while the S&P GSCI lost 9.6% in total return. The latter saw its third worst July on record, dragged down by 16 out of the 24 commodities seeing their value drop in July, which is the most since November 2015 when 22 were down.

Global asset manager Legg Mason has launched a new smart beta exchange-traded fund targeting exposure to international equities with high dividend yields, low price and earnings volatility and a currency hedge for adverse exchange rate movements against the US dollar. The Legg Mason International Low Volatility High Dividend ETF (Bats: LVHI) tracks income-producing equity securities with low price and earnings volatility from developed markets outside of the US across a range of market capitalizations that are included in the MSCI World ex-US IMI Index.

The Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting (MPM) today saw its Policy Board announce, by majority vote, that it would increase its exchange-traded fund purchasing program in a bid to expand stimulus. A note from the meeting stated that there would be: “An increase in purchases of ETFs by a 7-2 majority vote….The Bank will purchase ETFs so that their amount outstanding will increase at an annual pace of about 6 trillion yen.” (Roughly $58bn, which is almost double the previous pace of about 3.3 trillion yen).

Northern Trust’s exchange-traded fund division FlexShares has introduced two new funds that target the equities of firms listed in the US or globally with high environmental, social and corporate governance scores. The FlexShares STOXX US ESG Impact Index Fund (NASDAQ: ESG) and FlexShares STOXX Global ESG Impact Index Fund (NASDAQ: ESGG) seek to provide enhanced risk-adjusted returns by reducing portfolio exposure to specific stocks with operational risks associated with poor ESG scores.

Invesco PowerShares has launched the PowerShares DWA Momentum & Low Volatility Rotation Portfolio (Nasdaq: DWLV), which switches its exposure between different segments of US equities, international equities, or cash depending on momentum signals in the market, while also adding exposure to the low volatility factor. The fund’s index is based on Dorsey, Wright & Associate’s expertise in relative strength analysis, a momentum technique that relies on unbiased, unemotional, objective data, rather than biased forecasting and subjective research.

Boston-based investment manager O’Shares Investments has announced that the O’Shares FTSE US Quality Dividend ETF (NYSE Arca: OUSA) outperformed the S&P 500 by 10.5% in the 12 months since its inception on 14 July last year. Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Shares ETF Investments, commented in a statement: “We are very pleased with the performance OUSA has generated for investors, getting over 90% of market upside performance and less than 50% of the market downside performance during the period, essentially winning by losing less.”