iShares, a leading provider of ETFs, has unveiled a new suite of smart beta ETFs, branded as “FactorSelect”, offering equity exposure to a combination of factors that have historically added value over the long term. “Research has shown that certain investment styles have, over time, provided a higher risk-adjusted return than the overall market. These themes are well understood by investors – seeking high quality balance sheets or inexpensive stocks, for example – and have long been a staple of active mutual fund strategies. The FactorSelect series now allows investors to access these intuitive and time-tested investment ideas through low-cost, transparent ETFs,” said Tom Fekete, Head of EMEA Product, iShares at BlackRock.

Van Eck Global, the asset management behind the Market Vectors range of exchange-traded funds, has announced plans to close and liquidate four “quality” equity ETFs. Shares in the ETFs will cease trading on NYSE Arca after market close on 18 September 2015 and will subsequently be de-listed. At odds with industry-wide demand for smart beta and income products, the ETFs have failed to attract significant asset flow since their launch in January 2014, with none of the funds managing to sustain more than $5m or so in assets under management.

First Trust Global Portfolios, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch in Europe of a new global equities ETF, the First Trust Global AlphaDEX UCITS ETF (FGBL), based on the popular “AlphaDEX” smart beta methodology. The fund, which is linked to the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Global Index, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris. Commenting on the launch, Derek Fulton, CEO of First Trust Global Portfolios, said: “We are delighted to bring to market in Europe the First Trust Global AlphaDEX UCITS ETF. With this launch, investors now have a single ticker solution to investing globally using the proven AlphaDEX multi-factor methodology.”

For many, the investment holy grail is a strategy that will outperform across all stages of the market cycle. Multi-factor smart beta strategies are one of the more recent attempts to achieve this. The solid recent performance of the Scientific Beta Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy Index, which underlies exchange-traded funds from Amundi and Morgan Stanley, appears to suggest that multi-factor strategies can indeed deliver in some of the most testing environments as well in more benign periods.

Company-specific problems at three of the largest US-based providers of ETF managed portfolios have seen total assets under management within the segment drop by 7% this quarter, according to the Morningstar ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape report. “Despite this major disruption, the remaining firms were largely unaffected as collective assets remained roughly steady. The net result was a further flattening of the landscape,” noted Ling-Wei Hew, ETF Managed Portfolio Research Analyst at Morningstar.

Horizons, a leading Canadian exchange-traded fund issuer, has announced the launch of the Horizons Managed Global Opportunities ETF (HGM) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Actively managed by British Columbia-based Forstrong Global Asset Management, the fund uses flexible tactical allocation among several global asset classes to seek long-term investment returns. Howard Atkinson, President of Horizons ETFs, said: “The potential benefits of Horizons Managed Global Opportunities ETF are that it adds to the global diversification of one’s portfolio, and offers a risk-based approach to managing asset allocation.”

ETFs tracking defensive sectors of the stock market can play an important role in an investor’s portfolio, especially during bouts of market volatility. Defensive sectors, such as consumer staples and utilities, are those sectors that have typically delivered less volatile earnings and provided more consistent dividend streams regardless of the prevailing phase of the business cycle. Although defensive sectors generally underperform the market during periods of growth and expansion, they have historically yielded superior returns during recessions and bear markets, thus adding much-needed stability and diversification to a portfolio.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (Deutsche AWM), a leading global exchange-traded fund provider, has launched a further six dollar-hedged equity ETFs on its US platform. The ETFs, which provide various single country and size-specific exposures, offer dollar-referenced investors targeted international equity exposure while mitigating the risk that currency fluctuations will erode returns. The new funds come on the back of the phenomenal success of the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF (DBEF), which has grown from $1.7bn to approximately $14.1 billion in assets under management since the beginning of 2015.

O’Shares Investments, a Boston-based investment manager and exchange-traded fund issuer, has added to their roster of multi-factor smart beta ETFs with the launch of the O’Shares FTSE Asia Pacific Quality Dividend ETF and O’Shares FTSE Europe Quality Dividend ETF in New York. “We believe now is an excellent time to provide individual and institutional investors with a set of efficient, transparent and cost effective index-based investment products that reflect our core investment principles,” said O’Shares Chairman Kevin O’Leary.

Compass Efficient Model Portfolios (Compass EMP) has launched two volatility-weighted ETFs which provide a smart beta approach to international equity investing. “The Compass EMP methodology can provide advisors and their clients with a more effective way to achieve broad market exposure than traditional market-cap weighted indexes,” said Stephen Hammers, Chief Investment Officer for Compass EMP. “We are very excited to expand our existing ETF line-up to include two funds that may offer a tax efficient solution for investors seeking broad diversification outside of the US.”