Here are this week’s new fund launches along with a bunch of ETFs rebranded by State Street:

For a list of all new ETF launches, take a look at our ETF Launch Center.

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 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.

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.

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 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 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.

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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