Fisher Investments has teamed up with Credit Suisse to launch an exchange traded note (ETN) offering leveraged exposure to the Eurostoxx 50 USD (Gross Return) Index. The Swiss bank rolled out on the NYSE Arca the Credit Suisse FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN (FEUL), which covers notes due May 11, 2028.

The ETN which comes with a management fee of 1.00% offers leveraged exposure to its underlying index that is reset on a quarterly basis. There are at least 10 ETNs issued by Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and UBS marketed by Fisher Investments, with the recently rolled-out Large Cap Growth Index-Linked ETN (FRLG) from Goldman Sachs also appearing to be part of the family. In total, the notes represent nearly US$8bn in assets under management.

DWS releases new ESG Xtrackers ETFs

DWS is seeking to capitalise in the area of responsible investing with the launch of a new range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) Xtrackers ETFs. The four new ETFs provide exposure to ESG-filtered equity indices tracking global, US, Japanese and European markets.

The new ETFs track indices that are part of the MSCI ESG Leaders Low Carbon ex Tobacco Involvement 5% series. The indices use filtering based on MSCI ESG research, which means included companies meet strict ESG and low carbon requirements. The carbon emissions screening methodology is based on assessments of current emissions and potential emissions and is designed to filter out the most carbon intensive companies. The final ESG/low carbon MSCI World-derived index, which the Xtrackers ETF tracks, comprises 635 companies from the original 1,649, weighted by market capitalisation (Source: MSCI Inc, 30 April 2018).

The new Xtrackers ESG equity ETFs complement the existing Xtrackers II ESG EUR Corporate Bond UCITS ETF, which is also based on a comprehensive MSCI screening process.

BMO Global deploys new Solactive media and communications play

BMO Global has licensed the new Solactive Media and Communications Index to launch a tracker fund. The Solactive Media and Communications Index is a a free-float market-cap-weighted index intended to mirror the price movement of global stocks in the media and communications industry.

The index includes companies operating in more traditional sectors, such as telecommunications and television broadcasting, and also companies operating in new media sectors, such as social media and online streaming services. Starting from the Solactive GBS Developed Markets Large & Mid Cap Index as the founding universe, the index implements a sector-based filtering strategy selecting companies operating in telecommunications, media and publishing services, communication equip-ment, web-based data, and game software. The five top components by market-cap are Google, Facebook, Apple, Cisco Systems, Verizon Communications, and the top three represented countries are the US, Japan, and the UK. The Solactive Media and Communications Index is denominated in CAD and calculated as a net total return (NTR) index. Components are weighted according to the UCITS scheme and are readjusted quarterly.

Vanguard selects FTSE Total China Connect undex for new ETF

FTSE Russell has licensed its new FTSE Total China Connect Index to Vanguard which will be used as the benchmark for a new China ETF. The Vanguard Total China Index ETF is listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is the first to track the index.

The recently launched FTSE Total China Connect Index is designed to represent the performance of large and mid cap Chinese companies listed in or outside of mainland China. It reflects a broad range of Chinese equities and covers all of the major Chinese shares including A Shares, B Shares, H Shares, Red Chips, P Chips, S Chips and N Shares. The 1058 constituents in the index have a total investable market capitalisation of over US$3 trillion. The FTSE Total China Connect Index has been developed in line with FTSE Russell's transparent methodology and risk framework. The index will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. Approximately US$30 billion of assets under management is benchmarked to FTSE China indexes.

Assets invested in ETPs listed globally increased by nearly US$50bn in April

Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in globally increased by US$49.49bn in April 2018. The increase of 1.01% represents the highest monthly growth in assets since January 2018, when assets increased by 6.47%. 

At the end of April 2018, the Global ETF/ETP industry had 7,366 ETFs/ETPs, with 14,004 listings, assets of US$4.9tr, from 373 providers on listed on 70 exchanges in 57 countries. At the end of April 2018, there were 5,516 ETFs listed globally, with 11,482 listings, assets of US$4.7tr, from 337 providers on 68 exchanges in 56 countries. April 2018 marked the 51st consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed globally, with US$36.4bn gathered during the month; 5.11% less than net inflows during this month last year. 

The majority of the monthly net new inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered US$85bn during 2018. The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA US) on its own accounted for net inflows of US$16.3bn. Equity ETFs/ETPs gathered net inflows of US$16.23bn in April, bringing net inflows for 2018 to US$117.2bn. Fixed Income ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$15.9bn in April, growing net inflows for 2018 to US$33.4bn.