ACTIVE, ACTIVE , ACTIVE, that’s all we hear about now as if it’s like some sort of new found discovery.

Correct us if we are wrong, but the ETF industry has been advocating passive investing since the beginning of time claiming ‘you can’t beat the market’, ‘active management doesn’t work’, blah blah blah.

Now suddenly: ‘actually active does work and it’s the future of ETFs and it’s great, so roll up, roll up and grab a piece’. Call us a cynics, but REALLY!

Jack Bogle would be turning in his grave.

 

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

 

Franklin Templeton has doubled its active ETF range with the launch of three fixed income strategies.

The Franklin Sustainable Euro Green Corp 1-5 Year UCITS ETF (GCOR), the Franklin IG Corporate UCITS ETF (EIGC) and the Franklin Sustainable Euro Green Sovereign UCITS ETF (GSOV) will list on the Deutsche Boerse on 1 November and the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Milan later in the month. yahoo

 

JP Morgan Asset Management  is to close its ultrashort China bond ETF just 18 months after launching. The asset manager said the JPM RMB Ultra-Short Income UCITS ETF (JCST) will close on 7 December as it “has not attracted sufficient assets”.

JCST houses $29m assets under management (AUM), as of 3 November. etfstream

DWS has expanded its sustainable investment range with the launch of three new biodiversity ETFs. The funds offer investors the opportunity to invest in global firms that have a lower negative impact on the earth’s ecosystem than the market average.

The Xtrackers World Biodiversity Focus SRI UCITS ETF, Xtrackers Europe Biodiversity Focus SRI UCITS ETF and Xtrackers USA Biodiversity Focus SRI UCITS ETF were listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on 3 November. investmentweek

 

BlackRock has expanded its transition metal offering with a lithium and battery producers ETF. The iShares Lithium & Battery Producers UCITS ETF (LITM) is listed on Euronext Amsterdam with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.55%. citywire

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has expanded its range of Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB) strategies with the launch of an emerging markets ETF, ETF Stream can reveal.

The L&G Emerging Markets ESG Exclusions Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (RIEM) is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.25%. etfstream

 

AMERICAS

 

Hartford Funds has converted its Hartford Quality Value Mutual Fund, which dates to 1996, into an ETF. The fund had $250 million in assets under management. The conversion will be the first of several the firm anticipates executing in the future. fa-mag

ProShares is rolling out the first ETF that allows investors to take a bearish view on ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. The ProShares Short Ether Strategy is designed to deliver the inverse of the daily performance of the Standard & Poor’s CME Ether Futures Index. reuters

Roundhill Investments has launched a new income-focused US equities ETF targeting an elite group of companies that have increased their dividends every year for at least five decades. The Roundhill S&P Dividend Monarchs ETF (KNGS US) has been listed on NYSE Arca with an expense ratio of 0.35%. etfstrategy

Dimensional Fund Advisors has introduced a new fully transparent active ETF that systematically harvests multiple factor risk premia within the US large-cap equity market. The Dimensional US Large Cap Vector ETF (DFVX US) has been listed on NYSE Arca with an expense ratio of 0.22%. etfstrategy

BlackRock has introduced a new fund for investors seeking core US equities exposure. The BlackRock Large Cap Core ETF (BLCR US) has been listed on Nasdaq with an expense ratio of 0.36% and seeks to outperform the benchmark Russell 1000 Index.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, has launched two new actively managed ETFs, further solidifying the firm’s dominance in the market of the increasingly popular investment vehicles.

The firm announced the launch of the JPMorgan U.S. Tech Leaders ETF (JTEK) and the JPMorgan Healthcare Leaders ETF (JDOC) on Nov. 2.

Each fund has an expense ratio of 0.65%. etf.com

John Hancock Investment Management has expanded its lineup of exchange-traded funds with the launch of two new actively managed ETFs. The John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: JHMU) is the firm’s first municipal bond ETF.

It seeks a high level of interest income exempt from federal income tax. The John Hancock Fundamental All Cap Core ETF (NYSE Arca: JHAC) is the firm’s first active semi-transparent ETF. It seeks long-term capital appreciation. prnewswire

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

 

Hong Kong is assessing whether to allow exchange-traded funds that invest directly in crypto as officials step up efforts to create an Asia-Pacific digital-asset hub. yahoo

State Street Global Advisors has drastically reduced fees on six Australian exchange-traded funds amid a fierce price war among ETF providers in Australia.

The U.S.-based asset management giant has slashed annual management fees on its SPDR S&P/ASX 200, SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ESG, SPDR MSCI Australia Select High Dividend Yield ETF, SPDR S&P/ASX Australian Government Bond ETF,  SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF and SPDR MSCI World Quality Mix ETF  The six ETFs account for 67% of State Street Global Advisors’ total SPDR assets under management in Australia. ignites

 

Exchange Traded People. A podcast series focused on exploring the career journey of industry leaders within the ETF and Digital Assets space. Get to hear their personal story and be inspired.

This week we hear from Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Click HERE to hear Eric. 

 

Flows

 

Crypto funds see largest weekly inflows in more than a year according to  CoinShares.  

Inflows were $326 million for the week ending Oct. 27, dwarfing the $66 million recorded over the previous week. cointelegraph

 

Noteworthy

 

Fidelity Investments is seeking clearance that would allow some of its best-known mutual funds to also operate as ETFs by issuing a separate class of ETF shares as per what Vanguard has done. pionline

The Bitcoin drum is beating louder and louder now with Coinbase saying bitcoin ETF will ‘add credibility and increased liquidity’ to crypto market whilst AllianceBernstein expects the price of Bitcoin to ascend to $150,000 by 2025. thestreet

Actively managed exchange traded funds are rapidly gaining in popularity in Europe, following in the footsteps of a boom of these products in the US, the Financial Times reports.

The publication cites Morningstar data showing that active ETFs have posted net inflows in Europe in each of the last seven quarters, while active mutual funds have suffered outflows in six of these seven quarters. ft

 

Movers and Shakers

 

• Amundi has hired Benoit Sorel from BlackRock to lead the ETF, indexing & Smart Beta business line globally.
• Emily Grey has joined Grayscale as ETF Product Specialist.
• Pay Fahlbusch has joined AXA IM as Head of ETF Sales for Germany & Austria.
• Joe Bello has joined Invesco as UK Head of ETF Asset Managers.
• Shawn McNinch has been promoted to Global Head of Investor Services Sales and Global Head of ETF Services at Brown Brothers Harriman.
• WisdomTree has named Eva Casey as sales director for Ireland and Channel Islands.
• ETC Group has appointed André Dragosch as head of research from Deutsche Digital Assets (DDA).

From behind the Desk

 

Having a mentor is a great way to advance your career, yet so many people fail to make use of it.

We all have blind spots, suffer setbacks and generally get stuck at some point in our careers, so having a guide to help us through those can be of tremendous benefit.

Yet, we don’t always seek out such support or we don’t even avail of in-house mentorship programs when they are available. Maybe we think we can figure it out for ourselves, who knows. But if we were you, we’d make it our business to find that guide.

The impact could be career changing for you.