San Francisco-based Bitwise Asset Management has launched the Hold 10 Private Index Fund, a passively-managed index fund tracking the Hold 10 index, which follows the performance of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by inflation-adjusted market capitalisation. The index represents the performance of cryptocurrency by means of a basket of the largest coins that comprise the majority of the asset class's market capitalisation. The index has a policy of selecting the top 10 coins, by inflation-adjusted market capitalisation. A coin's price is derived from real-time data from multiple exchanges. The fund, which requires a US$10,000 minimum investment, is only available for accredited investors in the US, although there are plans to offer other vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. The cryptocurrencies in the index are: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Neo, Zcash, Monero and Ethereum Classic, as of September 26.

First preferred shares ETF lands in Europe
Invesco Powershares has launched the first ETF in Europe to offer targeted exposure to preferred shares by tracking the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Diversified Core Plus Preferred Net Total Return Index. The ETF is also the first fund launch since Invesco acquired ETF specialist Source in August, and will trade on the London Stock Exchange and invest in a portfolio of US preferred shares. Although technically equities, preferred shares have fixed dividends and tend to behave more like bonds and have an average yield of over 5% per annum. The ETF's underlying index has produced a 6.1% annualised return over the past five years, will be managed by senior portfolio manager Jeff Kernagis and be available in US dollars with an ongoing charge of 0.50% per annum. Dividends will be distributed quarterly.

Canadian provider deploys Solactive Future Cars Index
Evolve Funds has come out with another Canadian first: the Evolve Automobile Innovation Index ETF, which trades with hedged (Cars) and unhedged units (Cars B) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Cars is a passively managed ETF tracking the Solactive Future Cars Index Canadian Dollar Hedged index, which invests in equity securities of developed-market companies that have direct or indirect involvement in the development of electric drivetrains, autonomous driving or network connected services for automobiles. The hedged index provides equal-weighted exposure to companies involved in developing electric drive trains, autonomous driving or network connected services for automobiles. The screening procedure selects liquid companies from a universe of developed stocks operating in car manufacturing, automobile equipment and electronics, among other car-related subsectors. Companies with the highest research and development to sales ratio are selected. The index is composed of 32 companies, which include General Motors, Tesla and Texas Instruments. The Canadian provider has also launched the Active Canadian Preferred Share ETF (Divs).

CBOE Vest aims at volatility risk premia
CBOE Vest has listed two new ETFs on the US Securities & Exchange Commission. The CBOE S&P 500 Market-Neutral Option Income ETF seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Risk Premia Index. The rules-based options index captures the volatility risk premium in S&P 500 Index options by writing one-month S&P 500 call and put options, and buying an identical number of one-month S&P 500 call and put options with a lesser market value (ie. buying call options with a higher strike price and put options with a lower strike price) and lower premiums. The company has also listed the CBOE Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income Index ETF, tracking the performance, before fees and expenses, of the CBOE S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income Index. The index is a rules-based buy-write index created in 2017 by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and designed to generate an annualised level of income approximately 3.5% over the annual dividend yield of the S&P 500 and a secondary goal of generating price returns proportional to the price returns of the S&P 500. The index is comprised of an equal-weighted portfolio of the stocks contained in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index that have options that trade on a national securities exchange and a rolling series of short (written) call options on each of the Aristocrat Stocks (the covered calls). The options included in the index will be exchange-traded Flexible Exchange Options (Flex Options).

Regents Park Funds rolls-out 'diversified alternatives' ETF
Regents Park Funds has launched the Diversified Alternatives ETF, a tracker fund invested in assets classes, including 10 different markets, sectors and themes with a target of approximately 20 to 30 different positions, dependent on market conditions. The ETF seeks to provide capital growth and income with positive return over full market cycles by investing primarily in alternative asset classes and securities that do not represent the traditional investment universe. The product is an actively managed ETF listed on Bats

Guggenheim expands defined maturity product suite
Guggenheim Investments has launched Bulletshares 2027 Corporate Bond ETF and Bulletshares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF  for investors seeking to build 'bond laddering strategies' consisting of investment-grade and high-yield ETFs with varying terms to maturity. Bulletshares track indices of approximately 30 to 320 corporate bonds with effective maturities in the same calendar year as each fund's maturity. The ETF offers a 'laddering tool' to customise a hypothetical ladder by factoring such criteria as maturity range, portfolio weighting, duration, yield distribution, yield-to-maturity, yield-to-worst, and number of holdings.

Krane Funds Advisors has listed the MSCI One Belt One Road ETF on the New York Stock Exchange, including strategic companies from countries participating in China's One Belt One Road initiative. The ETF tracks the MSCI Global China Infrastructure Exposure Index.

Main Management has entered the ETF market with the launch of its Main Sector Rotation ETF, based on a fund of funds structure to invest in sector-based equity ETFs. The ETF uses dynamic sector rotation, with sector selection optimised by reviewing the sector, industry, and sub-industries in the fund's portfolio and allocating to sectors which appear undervalued and poised to respond favourably to financial market catalysts. The ETF is listed on the Bats ETF Marketplace.