UBS Asset Management has reduced the total expense ratio (TER) on the UBS ETF Barclays TIPS 1-10 UCITS ETF (LON: UBTS) with the new pricing effective from 1 April 2017. The fund offers investors inflation risk mitigation by tracking US Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).

The hedge fund industry experienced its fastest rate of fund closures last year since 2008, according to a report from Hedge Fund Research, leading many investors to explore similar strategies through alternate vehicles, including ETFs. While hedge fund performance was mixed in 2016, Kenneth Heinz, President of Hedge Fund Research, believes performance in 2017 will be strong across a range of strategies, driven by the continuation of macroeconomic normalization.

UBS Asset Management has announced that the UBS CMCI Composite SF UCITS ETF (LON: UC14) has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management driven by a surge in net new money of $224 million between 1 January and 13 March 2017. According to UBS, inflows into the ETF gained momentum over the last six months as investors sought to protect portfolios from an increasingly inflationary environment.

Vaneck has announced the launch of the VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: GRNB), the first US-listed fixed income ETF to provide exposure to the fast-growing green bond category. Green bonds are debt instruments issued to finance projects or activities that promote climate change mitigation or adaptation, or for other environmental sustainability purposes. GRNB comes to market as the space appears poised for significant growth.

BlackRock has expanded its range of Europe-listed sustainable ETFs with the launch of the iShares MSCI Japan SRI UCITS ETF (LON: SUJP). The fund harnesses the environmental, social and governance rating capabilities of MSCI to offer exposure to Japanese companies with best-in-class ESG credentials.

Index provider FTSE Russell has announced constituent changes to the FTSE 100 Index, the flagship reference for large-cap blue-chip stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange. The latest quarterly review will see consumer electronics retail giant Dixons Carphone and business process outsourcing company Capita removed in favour of pest control group Rentokil and investment trust Scottish Mortgage. The rebalance will trigger re-balancing activity in ETFs that track the index, such as the giant iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (ISF).

Three new exchange-traded funds listed on London Stock Exchange in January, bringing the total number of ETFs and ETPs listed on the exchange to 885 and 441 respectively. GF International launched an ETF providing access to large- and mid-cap Chinese A-Shares, UBS listed an ETF offering investors access to euro area corporate bonds issued by firms with high ESG ratings, and Source issued a broad commodity ETF tracking the Bloomberg Commodity Index..

Solactive has launched the Solactive Swiss Family Owned Companies Index, tracking the performance of publicly-traded family-owned companies that are domiciled and listed in Switzerland. Family-owned businesses may outperform non-family ones over the long-term as strategic decisions tend to be influenced by longer-term goals, incentivized by the desire of handing control to future generations. The index may serve as the underlying for future investment products including ETFs.

UBS has launched a new ETF offering investors access to euro area corporate bonds issued by firms with strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) characteristics. To qualify for inclusion, companies must be in the industrial, energy supply or financial sector and must have an ESG rating of BBB or higher according to MSCI’s sustainability ratings system. The UBS Barclays MSCI Euro Area Liquid Corporates Sustainable UCITS ETF (UIMC) is tradable on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra and Frankfurt exchanges.

UK large-cap equity ETFs have benefitted as the FTSE 100 Index achieved its longest winning streak on record, rising for 14 consecutive days until Friday 13 January and registering 12 record closing values in a row. The index is up 3.3% so far this year and a healthy 27.6% over the past 12 months, reaping the benefits of a weaker pound which serves to boost the competitiveness of British goods abroad. Investors may access FTSE 100 ETFs from providers such as iShares, Vanguard, UBS or HSBC, among others.