Ossiam, a leading provider of smart beta exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has made its low-volatility global equity ETF, the Ossiam ETF World Minimum Variance NR, more accessible to Swiss investors via a listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The new listing, which includes both euro and US dollar trading lines, complements the fund’s existing listings on the London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext Paris, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Börse.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has revealed that assets under management in the highly popular PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio ETF (SPLV) have surpassed $4 billion. The fund tracks the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index, an index consisting of 100 stocks selected from the S&P 500 Index with the lowest realised volatility over the past 12 months.

SSgA has announced the launch of the SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility ETF (LGLV) and the SPDR Russell 2000 Low Volatility ETF (SMLV) on the NYSE Arca. The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are designed to provide investors with exposure to large-cap and small-cap US equities, respectively, with reduced risk. The funds are based on low-volatility versions of the widely followed Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 indices.

The Ossiam ETF FTSE 100 Minimum Variance (UKMV), the first and only low-volatility exchange-traded fund based on the FTSE 100 index, has recorded an impressive first year on the London Stock Exchange. Managed by smart beta specialist Ossiam, an affiliate of Paris-based Natixis Global Asset Management, the fund has posted markedly superior risk-adjusted performance relative to the FTSE 100 since making its debut on the exchange in January 2012.

iShares, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform of BlackRock, has announced the launch of four ETFs based on minimum volatility indices on the London Stock Exchange. The new funds aim to provide access to a range of equity markets with lower volatility. The funds’ underlying indices each reflect a managed-volatility equity strategy that employs a minimum-variance approach to achieve lower total risk than their parent market-capitalisation-weighted index, while maintaining close tracking and similar characteristics.

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.

Ossiam, the smart beta specialist and affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management, has added to its suite of low-volatility exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the launch of the Ossiam ETF World Minimum Variance NR (OSXA). The new fund applies the firm’s proprietary minimum variance strategy to a global developed equity universe, delivering exposure to the world economy with reduced volatility. The fund will be listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris, Borsa Italiana, Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange.

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.

First Trust Advisors, a US-based investment manager, has announced the launch of the First Trust CBOE S&P 500 VIX Tail Hedge ETF (VIXH), an S&P 500-tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF) with an inbuilt insurance mechanism to help protect against extreme market swings. The NYSE-listed fund employs a tail-hedging strategy which utilises call options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) in an attempt to offset some of the potential losses associated with extreme unexpected events, so-called “black swans”.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced the launch of the S&P Europe 350 Low Volatility Index, which is designed to measure the performance of the least volatile stocks within the S&P Europe 350, an equity index drawn from 17 major European markets, covering approximately 70% of the region’s market capitalisation. The launch of the S&P Europe 350 Low Volatility index comes after interest from exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers and follows similar low volatility launches of indices covering emerging markets and developed countries ex-US.