Solactive, a Germany-based index provider, has launched the Solactive Swiss Equal-Weight Net Total Return Index, an index tracking the performance of an equally weighted allocation of Swiss large-cap stocks. The index, which has been licensed to UBS, has been constructed so as to be suitable to underlie index-linked investment products such as exchange-traded funds and structured products. Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive, commented: “We are pleased to fill in another gap in the market for UBS, with the launch of this equal-weight index following the Swiss market via its top 20 blue chips, which offers a new approach to a well-known market.”

Funds following European property markets have enjoyed a strong upswing since October 2014. The iShares European Property Yield UCITS ETF (IPRP), for example, netted gains of 25.3% from 1st October 2014 to end of April 2015. Similarly, the iShares Stoxx Europe 600 Real Estate UCITS ETF (EXI5) returned 25.2% over the same period. Growth in property prices has been widely dispersed across the Europe rather than isolated in a few major cities.

Heavy inflows into currency-hedged ETFs this year and last bear witness to the undeniable popularity of strategies which mitigate currency risk, especially for dollar-referenced investors. According to S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), a leading provider of indices, investors are right to be considering currency management and this is particularly pertinent in the near to medium term for USD investors. Aye Soe, Senior Director of Research and Design at S&P DJI, commented: “For a USD investor, currency hedging has long been part of fixed income portfolio management, as currency volatility plays a significant role in international bond returns. However, it is not as prevalent in equity investing. That has been changing as the spreads between hedged international equity portfolios and unhedged international equity portfolios has widened considerably in recent months, and they may widen even more, all else being equal, if other major currencies continue to weaken relative to the US dollar.”

The European exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded product industry gathered more assets in the first half of 2015 than in the first half of any previous year. European flows are in keeping with the global trend of record beating ETF/ETP asset growth so far this year, with record levels of net new assets being gathered globally ($152bn) and in the US ($103bn). Among ETF providers, Vanguard gathered the largest net inflows in June with $685m, followed by Source with $362m and UBS ETFs with $303mn net inflows.

BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares brand of exchange-traded funds, has unveiled the iShares MSCI EMU USD Hedged UCITS ETF (EMUU LN), a US dollar-hedged version of their Eurozone equities ETF. The fund responds to investor demand for European equity exposure with hedged euro currency risk. Blackrock’s Tom Fekete, Head of Product for iShares in EMEA, commented: “Many investors are interested in the prospects for European stocks but want new ways to invest in a risk managed fashion. Europe has experienced a cyclical rebound from 2014 and equity valuations are attractive relative to those in the US. At the start of 2015, corporate earnings revisions in Europe turned positive for the first time since 2010.”

Recent volatility in currency markets has awakened investors to the negative effect currency movements can have on asset returns, but is this a call for wider adoption of currency-hedged strategies or simply short-term noise which should be ignored by long-term investors? Divergent central bank policies have driven significant currency swings in recent years. Unhedged equity returns have been eroded by moves like the Japanese yen falling 33.6% against the euro between July 2012 and December 2013 and the euro falling 22.1% against the US dollar between March 2014 and March 2015. Consequently, inflows into currency-hedged international equity ETFs have surged in 2015.

Assets invested in European listed ETFs and ETPs are on course to surpass $500 billion having reached a new record high of $494 billion at the end of February 2015. According to data from industry consultants ETFGI, ETFs/ETPs listed in Europe saw net inflows of $12.49 billion in February, the second highest month of net new assets on record after a record $14.25 billion of net inflows the previous month. iShares gathered the largest net ETF/ETP inflows in February with $5.67 billion, followed by Lyxor Asset Management with $2.03 billion and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management with $1.35 billion.

UBS Global Asset Management has expanded its line-up of currency-hedged exchange-traded funds with the launch of the GBP-hedged UBS ETF (IE) CMCI Composite hedged GBP SF UCITS ETF (UC90) on the London Stock Exchange. The ETF is linked to the Bloomberg CMCI Composite Total Return index, a second-generation index which extends beyond use of short-dated futures contracts and diversifies investment across the maturity curve. The index is diversified across 26 commodities and five maturities. UBS is largest provider of currency-hedged ETFs in Europe.

The number of exchange-traded fund listings on SIX Swiss Exchange has surpassed 1000. The Zurich-based exchange has reached the milestone 15 years after the first ETF was listed on the exchange. “We are proud of reaching this milestone, and we would like to thank our issuers for the trust they show in us with each product launched,” commented Danielle Mair, ETFs & ETPs Sales Manager for SIX Swiss Exchange. Since SIX Swiss unveiled its dedicated ETF segment in 2000 the number of products has grown steadily. Last year proved to be particularly strong, with 162 new products listed, including 50 in the final quarter alone.

UBS Global Asset Management has listed a new ETF offering investors the opportunity to invest in equities from Eurozone countries with US dollar currency hedging. The ETF, the UBS ETF (LU) MSCI EMU hedged USD UCITS ETF (USD) A-dis (UC89), has been listed on the London Stock Exchange and is linked to the MSCI EMU 100% Hedged to USD Index. The index represents a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposure of its parent index, the MSCI EMU Index, to the USD, the home currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the USD by selling the EUR forward at the one-month Forward rate.