Source, a European provider of exchange-traded funds, has released a research report examining the expected trends in asset classes and regional growth rates during 2016. The paper also uses scenario analysis to determine the impact that significant events would have on asset prices. The findings highlight the best portfolio mix to take advantage of the ‘most likely’ scenario, but also point to a range of potential portfolios based on ‘worst-case’ and ‘best-case’ scenarios. Investors may tailor their exposure depending on individual risk tolerance.

ETFGI, a London-based exchange-traded fund consultancy, has published research showing that global assets under management within active ETFs/ETPs have reached $32.9bn, as of 31 October 2015. The pace at which this segment of the ETF/ETP market has grown has also increased, with net inflows of $8.9bn year-to-date representing a 23% increase over the previous record set last year. There are currently 232 active ETFs/ETPs globally, comprising 322 listings from 45 providers across 15 exchanges. Despite the growth, however, many asset managers are awaiting the SEC’s ruling on non-transparent ETFs.

Source, a European provider of exchange-traded funds, and Pimco, a leading global bond fund manager, have introduced a currency-hedged share class for the Pimco Short-Term High Yield Corporate Bond Index Source UCITS ETF (STHS). According to Source, the fund uses a risk factor-based approach to optimise the replication of the BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year US High Yield Constrained Index, a broad range of short-term US high yield corporate bonds, while mitigating fluctuations between the US dollar and British pound.

Source, a leading European exchange-traded fund provider, has appointed Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe’s largest index fund providers, as the investment manager for a new physical ETF platform. Lee Kranefuss, Chairman of Source, commented: “The new platform is all about increasing investor choice. We want to enable our investors to select the structure they prefer and are most comfortable with. Furthermore, having capabilities to launch more physical products will also allow us to target a wider investor base. Over 75% of investor flow since January 2014 has been into physical ETFs, so there is clearly strong demand for this type of replication method.”

Smart beta exchange-traded funds have attracted considerable attention, and assets, in recent years, sparking a great deal of debate. Much of this debate has been centred on the term itself, “smart beta”. Some argue that it implies market capitalisation-weighted ETFs are therefore “dumb beta” and that this inference can be misleading for investors. While the term smart beta may be open to misinterpretation, it has undeniably become part of the financial lexicon and, semantics aside, is now the most widely adopted term to describe rules-based non market cap-weighted and strategy-based investing. So let’s all move on from discussions over the term itself and, instead, focus on what’s important.

Novia, a leading UK fund platform, has teamed up with Winterflood Business Services, a provider of dealing, custody, and settlement services, to improve access to exchange-traded funds for independent financial advisers (IFAs). The collaboration aims to boost the adoption of ETFs by IFAs by reducing costs and enhancing the trading experience. The lack of efficient access to ETFs on IFA platforms has been a significant impediment to the adoption of ETFs in the retail investor space. The collaboration will facilitate the provision of a greater range of funds to IFAs as well as streamline the functionality when dealing with ETFs on the platform.

Source, one of Europe’s largest providers of exchange-traded funds, has revealed that independent financial advisers (IFAs) have overwhelmingly declared an interest in seeing greater availability of ETFs on the investment platforms they use. While growth in the sector has largely been a factor of institutional demand, the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which came into effect in the UK in early 2013, has started to change this dynamic, bringing private investors and their IFAs into a more prominent role within the industry.

The Multi-Asset Research team at Source, one of Europe’s largest providers of exchange-traded funds, has released research asserting their views on tactical sector allocations for the remainder of the year. The report analyses the global economic climate as well as regional conditions, both within local economies and their asset markets, in a bid to select sectors that may outperform in the US and Europe. Paul Jackson, Head of Multi-Asset Research at Source, commented: “Overall, our analysis shows that banks and resource-related sectors are some of the cheapest in both the US and Europe, while defensive sectors are currently among the most expensive.”

Latest statistics from London-based exchange-traded fund consultancy ETFGI show that the European exchange-traded product market continues to display strong growth, with net new assets, as of 30 September 2015, reaching $61.6bn year-to-date (YTD). This number is just shy of the full year record of $61.8bn recorded in 2014. Despite global volatility levels remaining high during September, $2bn was added in net new assets under management (AUM).

Crispin Odey, a London-based hedge fund manager, has warned of a new world-wide financial crisis which he believes will reveal itself shortly. The founder of Odey Asset Management has moved a significant 29% of the $11.7bn Odey Opus Fund into cash equivalents with the aim to preserve capital in the face of a global financial storm. Investors who follow the movements of the famed fund manager may wish to consider shifting part of their own portfolios into exchange-traded funds benchmarked to cash-like assets.