Canada’s lowest cost ETF, the Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (HXT), has joined the select few of Canadian ETFs that have surpassed C$1 billion in assets under management. Launched by Horizons ETFs in September 2010, the fund seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 Index (TR), an index comprising 60 of the largest Canadian publicly traded companies by market capitalisation.

Risks continued to ease in the fourth quarter of 2012, with no signs of a reversal ahead, according to risk specialists Axioma. Melissa Brown, Senior Director of Applied Research at Axioma, said: “The decline in risk should give investors the opportunity to focus on achieving active returns.” With predicted risk considerably reduced, now could be the time for risk tolerant sophisticated investors to consider tactically adding a degree of leverage to their portfolios via leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offering geared exposure to various markets.

Morningstar Indexes has launched the Morningstar US Real Asset Index, a diversified index portfolio of liquid assets that traditionally provide a hedge against inflation. The index, which includes exposure to Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and commodity-based stocks and futures, could help investors control their exposure to inflation.

Toronto-based Horizons ETFs and its affiliate AlphaPro Management have added the Horizons Active S&P/TSX 60 Index Covered Call ETF (HAX) to their growing line-up of active covered call exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This latest fund, which uses a covered call options strategy on stocks within the S&P/TSX 60 Index, aims to provide investors with exposure to Canadian large-caps with mitigated downside risk and monthly distributions of dividend and call option income.

Stoxx, a leading index provider, has announced the launch of the iSTOXX Efficient Capital Managed Futures 20 Index, a new index based on research provided by Efficient Capital Management, a global leader in the Managed Futures industry. The index, which measures the performance of some of the world’s largest Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), has potential uses as a benchmark against a single CTA or pool of CTAs, or as an underlying for financial products such as synthetic exchange-traded funds.

PowerShares Canada has announced the launch of the PowerShares Tactical Bond ETF (PTB), an actively managed fixed income ETF that seeks to provide both income and capital growth. Strategically diversified across fixed income asset classes, the fund will invest primarily in a mix of Canadian government, investment-grade corporate and real return bonds, and US high-yield bonds.

Two relative newcomers to the US ETF game, Russell Investments and FocusShares, have signalled their retreat, reflecting the intense competitive pressures within the US market as ETF giants iShares, SPDR and Vanguard monopolise inflows. Meanwhile, elsewhere, US-based Direxion, Europe-based Lyxor and Canada-based Horizons have announced the pending closure or delisting (of secondary listings) of some of their less popular funds.

Canada-based Horizons ETFs and its affiliate AlphaPro Management have announced the launch of two innovative ETFs which seek to provide exposure to North American stock market indices, while providing protection from so-called “Black Swan” events. The Horizons Universa Canadian Black Swan ETF (HUT) and the Horizons Universa US Black Swan ETF (HUS.U) are the first ETFs to be launched that pair a tail-risk hedge with an equity index investment.