First Trust Advisors has launched the First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (Nasdaq: SDVY), providing exposure to a diversified portfolio of high quality US-listed income-producing equities from the small- and mid-cap segments of the market.

By Nizam Hamid, ETF Strategist at WisdomTree in Europe.

European investors are increasingly allocating to growth as a style. Over the past nine years, equity assets in the growth category increased by close to 12.5% per annum, outstripping both value and blended/market capitalisation categories. The current strength of Eurozone economic fundamentals, with higher expected rates of growth, combined with the end to quantitative easing which is likely to be a prelude to rising rates, sets the scene for a continued focus on growth strategies.

Exponential ETFs has unveiled the Reverse Cap Weighted US ETF (CBOE: RVRS), providing exposure to S&P 500 equities weighted by the inverse of their relative market capitalization. Phil Bak, CEO of Exponential ETFs, commented: “Market capitalization weighting exposes investors to a concentrated portfolio and an extreme bias toward mega-capitalization companies, which can result in returns being left on the table. With RVRS, we’re solving this problem.”

IHS Markit and Korea Exchange (KRX) have launched two new smart beta indices that track South Korean equities. The indices will allow ETFs and other market participants to track publicly traded Korean Companies with the strongest dividend prospects based on IHS Markit research.

Invesco has cross-listed three PowerShares ETFs, comprising seven trading lines, to Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange. The ETFs offer currency-hedged exposure to the Nasdaq 100, a high-dividend low-volatility version of the S&P 500, and US high-yield bonds.

Frankfurt-based index provider Solactive is celebrating ten years since its founding in 2007. The firm has grown to produce more than 4,500 indices for over 350 clients and there are now over 260 ETFs tracking indices calculated by Solactive. Steffan Scheuble, CEO of Solactive, commented, “This has been a wonderful ten-year journey full of excitements and challenges.”

The EcoLogical Strategy ETF (NYSE Arca: HECO), an actively managed ETF focused on investing in green companies, has provided benchmark-beating returns since its inception five years ago.

The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) has become the latest new ETF issuer with the launch of six ETFs on NYSE Arca. Four of the ETFs track smart beta equity indices while two are actively managed fixed income strategies.

Vanguard has expanded its offering in Germany after cross-listing its entire range of European-domiciled ETFs on Deutsche Börse. The suite of 23 ETFs includes 13 market-cap weighted equity funds, six fixed income funds and four smart beta equity funds. Sean Hagerty, head of Europe at Vanguard, commented, “We are very excited to be bringing our value proposition to Germany.”

Horizons ETFs has launched the Horizons Active Intl Developed Markets Equity ETF (HADM), an actively managed ETF providing exposure to international dividend-paying stocks. Steve Hawkins, president and co-CEO of Horizons ETFs, commented: “Now that Canadians are so aggressively investing outside of Canada using ETFs, we felt it was very important to give them access to an active ETF strategy, focusing on dividend stocks in the EAFE regions.”