IndexIQ, a subsidiary of New York Life Investment Management, has launched an actively managed fixed income ETF that provides exposure to an ultra-short duration portfolio of bonds from multiple sectors. The IQ Ultra Short Duration ETF (ULTR US) has listed on NYSE Arca and comes with an expense ratio of 0.24%. The fund seeks to provide current income while limiting price volatility.

Salvatore J. Bruno, Chief Investment Officer at IndexIQ, the issuer behind the $70 million IQ US Real Estate Small Cap ETF (ROOF US) investigates the investment case for small-cap real estate investment trusts (REITs). Based on historic valuations, Bruno finds that small-cap REITs are trading at an unusual discount and are offering substantially higher dividends than their large-cap counterparts.

By Salvatore J. Bruno, Chief Investment Officer, and Mark Lacuesta, Director of Index Strategies, IndexIQ.

Given that merger arbitrage deals are the core component of a merger arbitrage strategy, what happens when merger & acquisition deal volume declines?

By Salvatore J. Bruno, Chief Investment Officer, IndexIQ.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are off to a strong start in 2019, with the Morningstar US REIT Index up more than 14% year-to-date through 17 April 2019. On a trailing one-year basis, that number is a little over 17.5%. What’s behind this?

New York-based IndexIQ has announced that the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA US), which provides returns similar to merger arbitrage hedge funds, has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management. Jon Zimmerman, Chief Operating Officer of IndexIQ, commented, “IndexIQ was founded with the belief that investment management needed to be democratized, allowing investors and advisors of all types to access institutional-quality strategies.”

IndexIQ, a New York Life Investments company, has launched the IQ Short Duration Enhanced Core Bond US ETF (SDAG US) on NYSE Arca. The fund uses a momentum-tilted factor strategy in a bid to outperform the market-value-weighted universe of short-duration, US dollar-denominated taxable bonds. “By combining short-duration exposure with a momentum-driven approach, investors now have a powerful tool for gaining exposure to this key area of the fixed income market while also adding the potential for outperformance,” said Salvatore Bruno, CIO at IndexIQ.

IndexIQ, a New York Life Investments company, has launched the IQ 500 International ETF (IQIN US) on NYSE Arca. The smart beta fund provides exposure to equities listed in developed markets excluding the US that have superior quality characteristics.

To hedge, or not to hedge, that is the question faced by portfolio managers with global investment mandates. While institutional investors may have the luxury of delegating this question to a dedicated fx overlay manager, for others it has the potential to cause sleepless nights. One thing is for sure, the performance differences between being hedged or unhedged can be stark, as demonstrated by the returns of Euro Stoxx 50 equity ETFs over the past month.

Markov Processes International (MPI) has launched MPI Hedge Fund Indices, a new business line providing investable indices for the hedge fund universe. Each index has two components: the first involves a sub-set of targeted hedge funds, while the second aims to track the first using ETFs, Rohtas Handa, head of institutional solutions at MPI, commented, “We are combining our experience with our patented dynamic factor model to build better benchmarks for hedge fund performance.”

E*TRADE, a platform for investors to buy and sell ETFs free of brokerage commission, has expanded its lineup by 51%, adding 80 new ETFs to its range. “With the recent additions, comprehensive diversification, across practically any asset class, is now more easily and cheaply attainable than ever before.” said Rich Messina, SVP of Investment Product at E*TRADE Financial.