Stoxx, a leading European index provider and supplier of equity indices to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has introduced the iStoxx Global ESG Select 100 Index. The new index screens the components of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) compliant Stoxx Global ESG Leaders Index for high dividend paying companies which also have low volatility, thus creating a hybrid portfolio of ESG, maximum dividend and low volatility strategies. It is designed to act as an underlying to ETFs and other index-linked investable products, such as structured products.

The European investment strategy team at iShares has released its 2014 outlook, in which it outlines three possible scenarios for the global economy in 2014 and pinpoints ETF strategies for investors to consider in these instances. Stephen Cohen, Chief Investment Strategist for iShares EMEA, said: “The outlook we think is most likely in 2014 is one where monetary policy remains accommodative. Growth will improve yet remain below trend, with consumers bound by subdued wages.”

Stoxx, a leading European index provider and a major supplier of equity indices to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has expanded its line-up of emerging markets exposure indices with the launch of the Stoxx Europe 600 EM Exposed Index. The new index represents those companies within the Stoxx Europe 600 Index that derive a substantial part of their revenues from emerging market countries, thus providing exposure to these growing markets through potentially less risky liquid developed market securities.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), sponsor of the SPDR ETF range, has launched a suite of ETF sub-funds in its Managed Pension Fund in a bid to make its ETF products more accessible to UK pension schemes. Mark McNulty, Head of UK Institutional at SSgA, said: “We see this development as an important and necessary step for small and medium UK pension funds. They can now make long-term investment allocations to a broader range of investment markets, including specialty assets such as emerging market debt and quality income tilted equities.”

Institutional investors are increasingly using exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for a variety of purposes, according to research conducted by iShares, the ETF business of BlackRock. Daniel Gamba, Head of iShares Americas Institutional Business at BlackRock, said, “As more and more institutions become more familiar and comfortable with ETFs, their usage typically evolves from tactical to core allocations and then expands to more uses such as risk management and portfolio rebalancing. We believe the momentum of ETFs usage will continue as institutional investors take full advantage of the product’s flexibility.”

Risk assets such as stocks and corporate bonds have further to run in 2014, even as a global tide of easy money slows, according to the BlackRock Investment Institute’s 2014 Investment Outlook. BlackRock is the parent of iShares, the world’s largest provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The outlook, “Squeezing Out More Juice,” considers key factors—such as the gradual exit from quantitative easing in the United States, tentative signs of a weak European recovery, Japan’s growth plan and China’s reform agenda – and their potential to create upside surprises or unforeseen downside risks.

Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs have surpassed (or at least are on course to do so soon) the level of assets invested in hedge funds, despite hedge funds having been around for triple the number of years. That’s according to ETFGI, a London-based consultancy headed up by industry veteran Deborah Fuhr. ETFGI notes that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 29.6% over the past 10 years, a rate which far exceeds that of hedge funds.

Global exchange-traded fund (ETF) and exchange-traded product (ETP) assets hit yet another record high at the end of November, as the combination of $17.0 billion in net inflows and positive market performance pushed assets to $2.4 trillion, according to preliminary data from ETFGI, a London-based consultancy. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered the largest net inflows with $18.2 billion, followed by fixed income ETFs/ETPs with $1.1 billion, while commodity ETFs/ETPs experienced the largest net outflows with $1.7 billion.

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), sponsor of the SPDR line-up of exchange-traded funds, has announced that the SPDR MSCI Beyond BRIC ETF (EMBB) has begun trading on the NYSE Arca. The ETF tracks the MSCI Beyond BRIC Index, offering investors an opportunity to access emerging market economies that have not received as much attention as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which represent more than 40 percent of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Commodities look set to underperform developed market equities for the third consecutive year in 2013. However, ETF Securities, a leading provider of exchange-traded commodities, argues that 2014 will be a turnaround year for this laggard asset class. Nicholas Brooks, Head of Research and Investment Strategy at ETF Securities, says: “Healthy demand growth in the US and China, disappointments to current highly optimistic supply forecasts for a number of key commodities, and continued ample global liquidity should support commodity prices in 2014”.