Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has lowered the fees on six ETFs. Rival ETF providers, including iShares, Vanguard, SPDR and Schwab, have announced similar fee reductions over the past year in what many commentators are calling a ‘price war’.

The recent rally in agricultural commodity prices serves as a stark reminder of the long-term global food supply/demand imbalance. For investors, however, the greatest opportunities could lie within the agribusiness sector, rather than making direct investments in agricultural commodity markets. Investors looking to access the sector have a wealth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to consider, with iShares, Invesco PowerShares, ETF Securities, Market Vectors, EasyETF and IndexIQ all offering compelling products.

Investors who bet on income-producing shares are finding that their strategy is, literally, paying dividends, as company payouts rise to a record. Still, beware the dangers of chasing high yields, warns Indxis, a leading independent provider of bespoke indices and investment products. UK companies paid out over £23bn in dividends during the third quarter, the most on record, according to Capita Registrars, which is also forecasting total dividend payouts in 2012 of almost £80bn, followed by another record year in 2013.

The Nasdaq OMX Group, the exchange operator, has acquired the index business of Mergent, including Indxis, in a deal that enhances the group’s position in the booming world of financial market indexing. Mergent is best known for its Dividend Achievers Indexes, a popular index family that tracks companies with strong long-term dividend growth. Indices from within this family are tracked by a number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including the hugely successful Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG).

S&P Dow Jones Indices, a leading provider of financial market indices, has announced the launch of the S&P MidCap 400 Low Volatility Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Low Volatility Index. The two indices seek to measure the performance of the least volatile stocks within their respective benchmark index. Both indices have been licensed to Invesco PowerShares for the creation and launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Almost four-fifths (78%) of financial advisers plan to increase their use of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in retail investors’ portfolios over the next year, according to a poll carried out by Guggenheim Investments at Morningstar’s ETF Invest Conference in Chicago. The findings corroborate a recent survey by Invesco, which showed that advisers expect ETFs to make up 24% of portfolio allocations over the next 12 months and 33% over the next three years – an increase of 10% on the figure reported last year.

FTSE Group has established a dedicated exchange-traded products (ETP) service unit, as investors increasingly turn to ETPs in their search for low-cost, transparent investment solutions. “As one of the world’s largest index providers, we are determined to significantly increase our share of the global ETP benchmark market,” says Mark Makepeace, CEO, FTSE Group. “The creation of FTSE’s new dedicated ETP Service Unit is the latest step in a strategy designed to deliver the best possible index and service solutions to our clients globally.”

Borsa Italiana, Italy’s main stock exchange and part of the London Stock Exchange Group, has celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) listing. From just eight ETFs in 2002 with €500 million in assets under management, the Milan-based exchange has grown to over 600 ETFs today with assets of around €18 billion.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the forthcoming launch of the PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Portfolio ETF (SPHD). The underlying index for the ETF is the S&P Low Volatility High Dividend Index, a newly launched index from S&P Dow Jones Indices and the first of its kind to identify high-yielding securities with low levels of volatility.

SPDR ETFs, the exchange-traded funds (ETF) platform of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has announced the launch of the SPDR S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (USLV), the first ETF in Europe to track the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the physically-backed fund tracks the low-vol version of S&P’s flagship S&P 500 index, providing investors with access to a diversified portfolio of US blue-chip stocks that have historically exhibited lower volatility and reduced downside risk.