Global short and leveraged exchange-traded product (ETP) assets rose by $4.4bn in the first four months of 2013, to $48.5bn, according to data released by Boost ETP. The growth in assets is a reflection, in part, of the increased breadth and depth of products available, improved education and understanding, and a general move by investors towards more transparent, exchange-traded products.

NYSE Euronext, a leading exchange operator and index provider, has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Intellidex Indices. The indices, which debuted in 2003, were designed to identify those stocks within a particular market segment that have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Following their immediate licensing to Invesco PowerShares, to serve as the basis for a range of ‘Dynamic Portfolios’ exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the indices were among the first ‘smart beta’ benchmarks to be adopted by the ETF industry.

Invesco PowerShares, a global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the PowerShares Fundamental Emerging Markets Local Debt Portfolio ETF (PFEM). The fund provides investors with exposure to emerging market sovereign debt denominated in local currencies. Unlike most fixed income ETF indices, which typically use some form of market-cap weighting, the fund’s index is weighted based on constituent country’s economic footprint.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has unveiled the S&P 500 Buyback Index, a new index tracking the performance of the S&P 500 constituents with the largest stock buyback programmes. The methodology behind the index, which has been designed to underlie index-linked products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is refreshingly simple. Essentially, the index measures the performance of the top 100 stocks with the highest buyback ratio in the S&P 500 in the last 12 months. It has outperformed the S&P 500 over one, three and five years.

Stoxx, a leading index provider, has introduced the Euro Stoxx 50 BuyWrite 100% Index. The index measures the performance of a buy-write or covered-call strategy based on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, the eurozone’s leading blue-chip equity index. The new index, which has been designed to underlie index-linked financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), represents a hypothetical portfolio of a long position in the Euro Stoxx 50 and a sold – or written – call option based on the same index.

Half of institutions using exchange-traded funds (ETFs) expect to increase their allocations to the product in the coming year, according to a study from Greenwich Associates. Andrew McCollum, consultant at Greenwich Associates, said: “Although ETFs first entered institutional portfolios mainly as tactical tools and continue to be used in important tactical functions, many institutions now regularly use ETFs as tools for gaining long-term exposures and implementing core investment strategies.”

Global inflows into exchange-traded products (ETPs) slowed a little in April 2013 to $10.3 billion, according to the latest ETP Landscape report from BlackRock. However, as of April month end, ETPs have seen inflows of $79.9 billion in the year to date, which is more than $13 billion ahead of the $66.3 billion of inflows collected during the same period last year. This is despite a major setback for gold ETPs, which have been hit with outflows of almost $18 billion.

First Trust Advisors, a global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has rolled out its fourth actively managed ETF. Listed on the Nasdaq exchange, the First Trust Senior Loan ETF (FTSL) seeks to generate high current income and preserve capital by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of first-lien senior floating-rate bank loans. The fund attempts to outperform both the S&P/LSTA US Leveraged Loan 100 Index and the Markit iBoxx USD Leveraged Loan Index.

Bank of China (HK) and FTSE Group have announced a partnership to develop a new suite of indices designed to measure the performance of Renminbi (RMB)-denominated bonds issued in offshore jurisdictions. The indices will be structured to help global investors to better capture the opportunities in the so-called ‘dim sum’ market and to provide an industry standard benchmark to meet increasing international demand for access to RMB-linked fixed income products, particularly exchange-traded funds.

ETF Securities believes that the commodity super-cycle is far from over, despite recent falls in commodity prices which have wiped billions off the firm’s assets under management. The London-headquartered exchange-traded product (ETP) provider asserts that the main fundamental drivers of the super-cycle are still in force and that recent commodity price weaknesses are more related to business-cycle fluctuations and short-term commodity-specific supply increases than a change in structural fundamentals.