Credit Suisse, one of the world’s largest financial services providers, announced Monday the launch of the Credit Suisse Long/Short Liquid Index (Net) ETN (CSLS), a product designed to correlate to the performance of the Credit Suisse Tremont Long/Short Equity Hedge Fund Index. But the new ETN achieves hedge fund-like exposure in a unique manner. The index to which CSLS is actually linked, the Credit Suisse Long/Short Liquid Index, is designed to reflect the return of a basket of 18 liquid, investable market factors. These factors are then selected and weighted monthly in accordance with an algorithm that aims to track the performance of the Credit Suisse/Tremont Long/Short Equity Hedge Fund Index. [click to continue…]
PowerShares, the Chicago-based ETF issuer behind many enhanced index ETF products, announced today the launch of the industry’s first ETF portfolio of closed end funds. The PowerShares CEF Income Composite Portfolio (PCEF) is linked to the S-Network Composite Closed-End Fund Index, a rules-based index designed to track the overall performance of a global universe of U.S.-listed closed-end funds. The index currently includes 71 closed-end funds, including 27 that invest primarily in taxable investment-grade fixed-income securities, 15 investing primarily in high-yield fixed-income securities, and 29 utilizing an equity option writing strategy. [click to continue…]
The ETF industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, with hundreds of new product launches covering various regions, sectors, and investment strategies. The surge in ETF product offerings–there are now nearly 1,000 exchange-traded products in our ETF screener–has sparked some speculation that the industry has reached a point of saturation–or perhaps has long since blown [...]
Van Eck, the ETF issuer behind international ETFs targeting several emerging and frontier markets, announced today the launch of the Egypt Index ETF (EGPT). The new fund is designed to track the performance of the Market Vectors Egypt Index, a benchmark measuring the performance of publicly traded companies that are domiciled and primarily listed on [...]
Emerging Global Advisors, the New York-based ETF issuer that pioneered sector-specific emerging markets ETFs last year, is scheduled to launch its first China ETF on Wednesday. The INDXX China Infrastructure Index Fund (CHXX) will be based on the INDXX China Infrastructure Index, a free-float cap-weighted index comprised of 30 companies determined to be representative of [...]
GlobalShares, a division of London based Old Mutual, launched the FTSE Developed Countries Ex-U.S. Fund (GSD) on Thursday, doubling the size of its ETF product line. GSD will track the FTSE Developed ex-U.S. Index, a benchmark already covered by the Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF). The new GlobalShares ETF will also compete with the iShares [...]
ProShares, the ETF issuer known for its 2x leveraged and inverse ETFs, announced today the launch of eight new 3x and -3x leveraged ETFs covering four major U.S. equity indexes. The benchmarks covered by the new ETFs include the NASDAQ-100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P MidCap 400, and Russell 2000.
ProShares, the issuer responsible for pioneering leveraged and inverse ETFs, has filed prospectuses for 16 new funds. Expansion is nothing new for ProShares–the company has launched a handful of new ETFs over the last year–but the filing was interesting because it detailed plans for 300% leveraged ETFs. ProShares’ current product line, which consists of more [...]
First Trust, best known for its line of AlphaDEX ETFs that utilize quantitative analysis to select holdings poised for outperformance, is planning a pair of full-blown active ETFs. The proposed funds are the First Trust Developed International Markets AlphaDEX Fund and the First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund. The SEC filing notes that the funds [...]
Over the past six months, New York-based Global X has introduced a line of sector-specific China ETFs, many of which have already seen impressive cash inflows and daily trading volumes. Now the upstart ETF issuer is turning its attention to commodities, filing for approval on four funds tracking indexes composed of mining stocks. The ETFs [...]
Tuesday marks the first day of trading for the PIMCO Short Term Municipal Bond Strategy Fund (SMMU), the third actively-managed ETF from the Newport Beach, California-based bond fund giant. The fund is designed for investors seeking tax-exempt income, and consists of a diversified portfolio of short duration, high credit quality bonds that carry interest income [...]
Grail Advisors, known in the ETF world as the issuer responsible for the first actively-managed ETF that allowed managers total discretion, announced today the launch of two actively-managed fixed income ETFs. The Grail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF (GMMB) and the Grail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF (GMTB) began trading on the NYSE Arca Exchange [...]
