ETFs tracking the consumer discretionary sector have performed well this year, with the LSE and Deutsche Börse-listed SPDR S&P Consumer Discretionary Select Sector UCITS ETF (SXLY) and NYSE-listed iShares Global Consumer Discretionary ETF (RXI) having appreciated by 9.3% and 8.9%, respectively, since January 1st, considerably above the essentially flat return of the S&P 500 over the same period. The sector was further boosted by strong earnings reports from consumer discretionary behemoths Amazon and Starbucks.

Exchange-traded funds have long been heralded for their ability to provide investors with security market returns at a reasonable cost. The missing link for many investors has been a method to turn these building blocks into a complete portfolio solution which caters to their individual needs and to do so cheaply and easily. Financial technology companies, such as London-based ETFmatic, are working to fill this niche through technology-driven asset-allocation solutions and low-cost ETFs. These innovative young firms look set to disrupt the staid ways of the UK wealth management industry.

London-based bank Barclays has partnered with economist Nouriel Roubini and his Roubini Global Economics research firm to launch a suite of smart beta equity indices: the Roubini Barclays Country Insights Indices. As tradeable strategy indices, the suite is ideally suited to underlie index-linked investment products such as exchange-traded funds. The engine behind the new indices is the “Roubini Country Insights” model, which measures country risks and opportunities via a systematic rules-based approach. This approach consistently ranked Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain in the bottom four of Eurozone countries according to their investment attractiveness as far back as September 2005.

Flow Traders, a leading liquidity provider for exchange-traded funds, has floated on Euronext Amsterdam. Commenting on the listing, Sjoerd Rietberg, co-CEO of Flow Traders, said: “We are thrilled to complete our IPO with today’s listing on Euronext Amsterdam. The strong demand we have seen from investors, their high level of recognition of our innovative business model and track record and the support for our growth strategy confirm our confidence in a bright future as a listed company. We would like to welcome our new shareholders and are thankful for the trust they have placed in our company.”

The recent referendum in Greece led to a decisive victory for the ‘No’ campaign, emboldening the Greek government in their stance against the austerity terms laid out by the so-called Troika. The two warring parties have returned to the negotiating table but both sides appear adamant that they will not be moved to a substantially different position. But despite the ongoing stalemate and severity of the situation, ETFs have largely been unfazed. Whilst the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK), the only pure-play Greece ETF, did open a thumping 9.7% lower on Monday, it has quickly bounced back, recovering 5.2% by the end of Tuesday and making further gains in subsequent days. It now stands above its close price before the referendum.

The European exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded product industry gathered more assets in the first half of 2015 than in the first half of any previous year. European flows are in keeping with the global trend of record beating ETF/ETP asset growth so far this year, with record levels of net new assets being gathered globally ($152bn) and in the US ($103bn). Among ETF providers, Vanguard gathered the largest net inflows in June with $685m, followed by Source with $362m and UBS ETFs with $303mn net inflows.

The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK), the only pure-play Greece-focussed ETF, lost 19% of its value during early trading on Monday on the NYSE Arca. The ETF, which tracks the FTSE-ATHEX Custom Capped Index, slumped as investors came to terms with an official Greek default, the first ever default on an IMF loan from a Western country. Sovereign borrowing costs, especially the 2-year rate, soared as the near-term future of the Hellenic economy looked increasingly dire. Several key markets around the world were also affected, with Euro Stoxx 50 ETFs also taking a hit.

BlackRock has expanded its iShares smart beta ETF product suite with the introduction of the iShares MSCI International Developed Size Factor ETF (ISZE) and iShares MSCI International Developed Value Factor ETF (IVLU) on NYSE Arca. Mark Carver, Head of US Equity Smart Beta at BlackRock, commented: “The introduction of the international value and size products is a natural extension of our smart beta suite. Client interest in smart beta is growing and, with the addition of these two new ETFs, investors now have even greater choice when looking to diversify portfolios and implement investment views across specific factors.”

Global exchange-traded fund flows remain ahead of the record year-to-date pace set in 2013 as $18.3bn flowed into global ETFs in May, bringing assets gathered to $123.8bn so far this year according to a report from Blackrock. Ursula Marchioni, Head of ETP Research at BlackRock commented: “2015 has been so far dominated by two trends: outflows from US equity exposures and inflows into most of the other developed equity markets. ETPs giving exposure to Europe, Australasia and developed markets in the Far East have seen cumulated inflows of $35.8bn year-to-date – $4.2bn of which in May alone. Within this trend, Japanese equity ETFs have been particularly popular, as part of a stock market surge that’s pushed the Nikkei 225 to its highest level since 2002.”

Van Eck Global, the asset management firm behind the Market Vectors brand of exchange-traded funds, earlier this month cross-listed two of the most successful US-based gold mining ETFs on the SIX Swiss Exchange: the Market Vectors Gold Miners UCITS ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners UCITS ETF (GDXJ). The ETFs track the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index and the Market Vectors Global Junior Gold Miners Index, respectively, and are composed of underlying stocks closely tied to the gold-mining industry. “Strong international client demand for UCITS ETFs and providing investors with flexible product options was the key motivation for our recent fund launches,” said Lars Hamich, CEO of Van Eck.