Commodities have enjoyed their biggest three month gain since 2009, according to a note from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P GSCI (formerly Goldman Sachs Commodity Index) has seen a total return of 9.8% this year-to-date, with commodities now outperforming stocks for the first year since 2007. While not every broad commodity index has performed as strongly as the S&P GSCI, which is weighted by world production and significantly energy sector-heavy, 2016 has seen a rebound in most commodities from their five-year trend, providing benefits to investors in a range of exchange-traded funds linked to these indices.

The S&P 500 Index, one of the most widely followed indices in the world and a bellwether for the US economy, has recorded a turbulent start to the year, prompting market watchers to believe the index is poised to suffer a sharp decline. The index – acting as a reference for several hugely popular ETFs, including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) – has dropped 10.5% from its opening value this year of 2044 to its lowest point YTD of 1829 on 11th Feb. Despite a brief recovery in the market – where it gained 14.6% from its February low to 31 May 2016 – investors who endured the ride would still have only netted a 2.6% increase in capital value. An examination of fundamental and technical factors may suggest the widely-followed index may be due a correction.

Low volatility and high dividend smart beta strategies are the most popular choices with first time investors, according to research commissioned by Invesco PowerShares. Dividend and low volatility strategies attracted praise from 72% and 69% of first time smart beta users, respectively, stating they are likely to consider such strategies. Bryon Lake, Head of Invesco PowerShares – EMEA, said: “The findings of this research are confirmed by our market experience. We launched the PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility UCITS ETF one year ago, and it has since then significantly outperformed its benchmark and attracted strong asset inflows.”

Leading global index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices has celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), a widely followed indicator for US stock market performance. The index, designed to reflect the health of the broad US economy, is a price-weighted average of 30 stocks traded on the New York and NASDAQ exchanges. It also serves as the benchmark for several exchange-traded funds from providers such as State Street Global Advisors, iShares and ProShares.

Illinois-based investment firm Elkhorn Investments has launched an exchange-traded fund offering access to investment grade preferred shares of US companies. The Elkhorn S&P High Quality Preferred ETF (Bats: EPRF) may appeal to investors looking for regular income-generating securities while still being able to participate in the upside potential of the firm. “Preferreds remain an area of strong investor interest given their relative high income,” said Ben Fulton, CEO of Elkhorn Investments. “We are excited to launch the first high quality preferred ETF, offering investors access to higher income through preferred securities without sacrificing credit quality.”

WisdomTree Europe has launched a new smart beta commodity exchange traded fund with a built-in mechanism that helps reduce the cost of holding commodity future contracts, meaning investors can hold the ETF in their portfolios for longer. The WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF (WCOA), listed on the London Stock Exchange on Monday 9th, tracks the Optimised Roll Commodity Total Return index, a broadly diversified index with weightings based on the Bloomberg Commodity index. The Optimised Roll Commodity Total Return index consists of 22 commodities with sector exposures of 35.5% in agriculture, 30.9% in energy, 17% in industrial metals and 15.6% in precious metals.

President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2010 resulted in health care stocks being the darling of US capital markets over the last four years. Since the law was passed on 23 March 2010, the S&P Health Care Index has jumped 86%. The so-called “Obamacare” was one of the president’s cornerstone policies and major successes during his eight years in the White House. It expanded and improved health care and cut back on spending via taxes and regulation. However, Obamacare, which sent the S&P Health Care Index soaring, could now be in jeopardy in the face of the 2016 election.

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) recorded its best performing month for a year and the second best April on record. The index is up 15.5% since 29th February 2016, marking the biggest consecutive two months in almost seven years since May-June 2009 when it gained 20.4%. According to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices, the Dow Jones Commodity Index and S&P GSCI total return indices also saw positive performances with gains of 9.1% and 10.1%, respectively. However, the rally could be short lived, proving hard to sustain as a result of poor fundamentals underpinning the commodities.

Stock exchange group Bats Global Markets has welcomed US-based exchange-traded funds provider REX Shares as a new issuer to The Bats ETF Marketplace with the launch of two new ETFs. The REX VolMAXX Long VIX Weekly Futures Strategy ETF (VMAX) provides investors with exposure to the VIX Index, also known as the ‘fear index’. VIX is a reference for the implied volatility derived from current derivative prices of the S&P 500 Index, a broad-based reference for the large-cap US equity market. The REX VolMAXX Inverse VIX Weekly Futures Strategy ETF (VMIN) provides investors with inverse exposure to the VIX Index. Laura Morrison, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Exchange Traded Products at Bats, commented: “We’re thrilled to have their two new innovative products listed on the Bats ETF Marketplace and we look forward to a strong partnership.”

US-based exchange-traded fund provider Global X Funds has launched a new Catholic values-based ETF based on the S&P 500 Index. The Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values Index ETF (Nasdaq: CATH) will track the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index, which invests in US large cap companies whose business practices adhere to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines as outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The index’s methodology screens out companies with revenue exposure to operations that do not meet Catholic values by analysing each firm’s financial statements on a quarterly review basis. These activities include abortion, adult entertainment, biological and chemical weapons, contraception, nuclear weapons, stem cell activity, and the use of child labour.