By Dr Peter Hopkins, principal, Style Research.

There are lots of ways to entice people into parting with their money – and attractive packaging and descriptions are near the top of the list. ETFs are no exception to the aggressive marketing taking place; neither are the factors that are often used to calibrate the performance of these investments. But can you really trust the products? And what should you look out for?

FTSE Russell has expanded its FTSE Italia Index Series with the launch of the FTSE Italia Brands Index, comprising Italian companies operating in the consumer goods and services sector that are considered best-in-class with regards to creativity, excellence, intuition and innovation.

FTSE Russell has launched the FTSE4Good TIP Taiwan ESG Index, developed in partnership with Taiwan Stock Exchange. The index provides a reference for the performance of Taiwan-listed firms with high ESG scores, according to the FTSE4Good rating methodology.

Horizons ETFs Management US has entered into a strategic partnership with Cadence Capital Management to develop a series of actively managed ETFs due to launch early in 2018. The first fund will be a US equity strategy that focuses on high-quality companies from the Russell 1000 Index with above average dividend yields.

ETF flows have started to chase the fund fee cuts that have become a staple of the industry in recent months, according to new research released by FactSet. The report comes in the wake of numerous announcements in the last few months of fee reductions and new ultra-low-cost funds from major players, including Charles Schwab, State Street Global Advisors, Franklin Templeton, Deutsche Asset Management and Invesco PowerShares.

Quality has replaced value as the factor driving US large-cap equities in 2017 so far, according to new research from FTSE Russell and OppenheimerFunds.

OppenheimerFunds has expanded its Beta Solutions product offering with the launch of a suite of eight new ETFs, including two multi-factor and six single-factor products, in partnership with global index provider FTSE Russell. Sharon French, head of beta solutions at OppenheimerFunds, commented: “With the addition of our new factor-based products, we are giving clients the next generation tools they need to help produce compelling investment results in any market environment.”

JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has launched five smart beta ETFs on NYSE Arca. The ETFs each select US equities that display high exposure to one of five factors: momentum, value, quality, dividend and minimum volatility.

Franklin Templeton has unveiled its first fully passive ETFs, including 14 single-country and two regional funds. The ETFs, which track market cap-weighted indices designed by FTSE Russell, are scheduled to be listed on NYSE Arca on 6 November 2017. Patrick O’Connor, global head of ETFs for Franklin Templeton, said: “Our new suite of passive ETFs will provide a cost-effective way to access beta solutions, further rounding out our offerings for US investors.”

FTSE Russell has launched the FTSE Saudi Arabia Inclusion Index Series, a comprehensive suite of indices designed in response to regional growth and the partial opening of the country’s capital markets. The index series has been constructed to be suitable for index-linked investment products, such as ETFs, and includes three sets of indices at the country, regional, and global level.