It was just a few short weeks ago that Point Bridge Capital brought the GOP Stock Tracker ETF (MAGA ) to the market in order to give investors a way to own companies that donate to politically conservative causes and campaigns. This week, EventShares jumps on the trend by debuting a trio of politically motivated funds of their own.
Here are this week’s new fund launches along with a bunch of ETFs rebranded by State Street:
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Launch Date | ETFdb.com Category | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (AIEQ ) | AI Powered Equity ETF | ETF Managers Group | 10/18/2017 | All Cap Equities | 0.75% |
| (MMIN ) | IQ MacKay Shields Municipal Insured ETF | IndexIQ | 10/18/2017 | National Munis | 0.30% |
| (MMIT ) | IQ MacKay Shields Municipal Intermediate ETF | IndexIQ | 10/18/2017 | National Munis | 0.30% |
| (GOP ) | EventShares Republican Policies ETF | Active Weighting Advisors | 10/17/2017 | All Cap Equities | 0.75% |
| (DEMS ) | EventShares Democratic Policies ETF | Active Weighting Advisors | 10/17/2017 | All Cap Equities | 0.75% |
| (TAXR ) | EventShares U.S. Tax Reform ETF | Active Weighting Advisors | 10/17/2017 | All Cap Equities | 0.85% |
| (BERN ) | Bernstein U.S. Research Fund | Exchange Traded Concepts | 10/16/2017 | Large Cap Blend Equities | 0.50% |
| (BRGL ) | Bernstein Global Research Fund | Exchange Traded Concepts | 10/16/2017 | Global Equities | 0.65% |
| (LOGO ) | Global X Iconic U.S. Brands ETF | Global X | 10/16/2017 | Large Cap Blend Equities | 0.48% |
| (SPAB ) | SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 05/23/2007 | Total Bond Market | 0.04% |
| (SPDW ) | SPDR Portfolio World ex-US ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 04/20/2007 | Foreign Large Cap Equities | 0.04% |
| (SPEM ) | SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 03/20/2007 | Emerging Markets Equities | 0.11% |
| (SPIB ) | SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 02/10/2009 | Corporate Bonds | 0.07% |
| (SPLB ) | SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 03/10/2009 | Corporate Bonds | 0.07% |
| (SPLG ) | SPDR Portfolio Large Cap ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 11/08/2005 | Large Cap Blend Equities | 0.03% |
| (SPMD ) | SPDR Portfolio Mid Cap ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 11/08/2005 | Mid Cap Blend Equities | 0.05% |
| (SPSB ) | SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 07/08/2009 | Corporate Bonds | 0.07% |
| (SPSM ) | SPDR Portfolio Small Cap ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 10/16/2013 | Small Cap Blend Equities | 0.05% |
| (SPTL ) | SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 05/23/2007 | Government Bonds | 0.06% |
| (SPTM ) | SPDR Portfolio Total Stock Market ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 10/07/2000 | All Cap Equities | 0.03% |
| (SPTS ) | SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF | State Street (SSgA) | 11/30/2011 | Government Bonds | 0.06% |
For a list of all new ETF launches, take a look at our ETF Launch Center.
The Washington Political Environment in Your Portfolio
Newcomer Active Weighting Advisors enters the ETF fray this week with three new funds aimed at investors looking to align their political beliefs with their portfolios. The EventShares Republican Policies ETF (GOP ) and the EventShares Democratic Policies ETF (DEMS ) look to invest in companies expected to benefit from the implementation of each party’s respective policies. On the GOP side, those policies include less regulation, increased defense spending, energy independence, border control and tax reform. For the Democrats, it’s immigration, higher education, a higher minimum wage, clean energy and healthcare reform.
The company also launched the EventShares U.S. Tax Reform ETF (TAXR ), a fund that targets companies expected to particularly benefit from lower tax rates, cash repatriation and lower tariffs. A fourth ETF focusing on the breakup of the EU is expected to arrive soon.
State Street Announces Its Intentions to Win the Fee War
State Street has rebranded and lowered fees on a dozen of its SPDR ETFs in order to compete with Vanguard, BlackRock and Schwab in the ETF fee war. Several of the new SPDR Portfolio funds now carry expense ratios that make them the cheapest in their category. Of note, the SPDR Portfolio Large Cap ETF (SPLG ) and the SPDR Portfolio Total Stock Market ETF (SPTM ) drop their expense ratios all the way down to 0.03%, while the SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM ) slashes its fees from 0.59% down to 0.11%.
For a list of all State Street ETFs, click here.
A New ETF Powered by Machines
Automated investment management, which sees computers taking over for humans in the portfolio management process, has been disrupting the traditional financial advisor model as investors continue to look for cheaper and simpler options. The AI Powered Equity ETF (AIEQ ) debuts this week using a similar concept. It puts computer algorithms in charge of stock selection instead of people. It looks at news, market signals, fundamentals and technical data to pare the equity universe down to 30 to 70 names providing the greatest opportunities for capital growth. The fund is actively managed and can change its holdings on a daily basis.
Bernstein Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
Lots of investment firms slap buy, sell and hold ratings on stocks, but, ultimately, there’s little accountability or track record for these picks. Bernstein is changing that with the debut of the Bernstein U.S. Research ETF (BERN ) and the Bernstein Global Research ETF (BRGL ). Both funds will create a portfolio of stocks that are rated “Outperform” by the analysts of Sanford C. Bernstein and fall within the top 60% of Bernstein’s quantitative models. Bernstein gives stocks an “Outperform” rating if it feels the stock will outperform the S&P 500 by more than 15% over the next 6-12 months.
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IndexIQ Adds Muni Bonds to Its Growing Roster
IndexIQ operates nearly two dozen ETFs covering everything from equities to long-short strategies. The company adds municipal products to its lineup with the additions of the IQ MacKay Shields Municipal Insured ETF (MMIN ) and the IQ MacKay Shields Municipal Intermediate ETF (MMIT ). MMIT invests in a traditional set of investment-grade municipal bonds with maturities of anywhere between one and 15 years. MMIN invests in munis with similar characteristics, but looks for those backed by high quality insurers.
Global X Invests in Brand Value
Global X utilizes a very simple strategy for its latest ETF. It’s looking for companies with strong brand recognition and loyalty. The Global X Iconic U.S. Brands ETF (LOGO ) will invest in roughly 100 names with powerful brands, which currently includes General Motors (GM), Marriott International (MAR) and Western Digital (WDC) among its top holdings.
The Bottom Line
State Street’s new low-cost lineup is a powerful move to compete with the industry’s biggest low-cost providers. It’s a smart move because a lot of ETF money flows into the cheapest products. Many of the other new offerings target narrow niches or strategies that may have challenges attracting interest. However, the politically motivated investing theme looks like it may continue with additional ETFs on the horizon.
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It was just a few short weeks ago that Point Bridge Capital brought the GOP Stock Tracker ETF (MAGA ) to the market in order to give investors a way to own companies that donate to politically conservative causes and campaigns. This week, EventShares jumps on the trend by debuting a trio of politically motivated funds of their own.
