Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has celebrated the one-year anniversary of the PowerShares DWA SmallCap Technical Leaders Portfolio (DWAS). Since inception on July 19 last year, the ETF, which is part of a broad suite of DWA Technical Leaders ETFs, has outperformed the Russell 2000 Index market-cap weighted benchmark by a margin of 9.44%, achieving a total return of 41.84% over the one-year period compared to 32.40% for the Russell 2000.

Citi has added a new emerging markets index to its fixed income index family. The Citi Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI) measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency sovereign bonds. The index currently comprises 233 bonds from 14 countries globally including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.

By David Stevenson – In just a matter of months, smart beta has emerged out of a technical netherworld into the investment mainstream. I’ve been banging on about various forms of smart beta for as long as I can remember, starting first with fundamentally weighted indices such as Research Affiliates’ RAFI suite, which are investable via ETFs offered by PowerShares, iShares and Lyxor, before moving on to low or minimum volatility indices popularised in ETF format by the likes of iShares, SPDR, PowerShares and Ossiam over the last year or so. Not forgetting, of course, the many successful high-dividend indices and ETFs.

PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a subsidiary of Invesco, has revealed that assets under management in its fundamentals-weighted suite of equity and fixed income ETFs, part of its larger smart beta range, recently passed the $5 billion mark. PowerShares offers such ETFs on local exchanges in the US, Canada and Europe, including the UK, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) have registered their first net outflows in over two years, with almost $4 billion being pulled out of the products globally in June 2013, according to preliminary figures from ETFGI, a London-based consultancy. Year to date, however, assets in ETFs and ETPs have increased by 4.9% and remain close to the all-time high reached at the end of May 2013. Net inflows for the first half of the year were $103.9 billion.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has launched the PowerShares Global Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (PGHY) on the NYSE Arca. Based on the DB Global Short Maturity High Yield Bond Index, the fund provides investors access to short-term, US dollar-denominated, high-yield debt that is issued globally. Constituents include sovereign, quasi-government and corporate bond securities.

As more and more investors lose faith in active managers, they are increasingly turning to a compelling alternative – smart beta. Combining elements of both active and passive management, smart beta strategies have enjoyed significant inflows in the past few years and continue to see growing interest from investors. The latest evidence for this comes from FTSE, a global index provider, which has announced that assets under management in ETFs linked to the fundamentally weighted FTSE RAFI index series have topped $5 billion.

For providers of exchange-traded products (ETPs), 2013 is fast becoming a vintage year. Year-to-date net inflows reached a record $107 billion through the end of May 2013, a whopping 31% higher than the $82 billion seen during the same period last year, according to data from ETFGI. When added to the existing ETP pile, total assets under management in the industry now stand at an all-time high of $2.14 trillion across some 4,849 products from more than 200 providers.

With most mainstream markets and indices tracked by multiple exchange-traded funds (ETFs), ETF providers are increasingly having to find an edge to help their new funds stand out. Often this edge comes via a niche focus or by way of an alternative ‘smart beta’ index. The newly launched Barron’s 400 ETF (BFOR) fits nicely into this latter category. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the fund is based on the Barron’s 400 Index, a rules-based index tracking the performance of 400 equally weighted US companies with strong fundamentals.

S&P Dow Jones has again added to its rapidly expanding suite of indices with the launch of the S&P Nordic Low Volatility Index, an index tracking the performance of the 30 least volatile stocks in the S&P Nordic Broad Market Index (BMI). The new index further enhances the index provider’s existing low-volatility line-up and reflects continued investor interest in low-volatile equity strategies.