March ETP launch review
This report aggregates newly launched funds in March and highlights the performance of the funds launched in February.
- March continues the strong 2015 growth, adding 37 new funds across 16 different providers
- 25 funds were launched in the Americas, seven added in Emea and five launched in Apac
- 20 equity funds and 14 fixed income ETFs were added as well as two alternatives
March new listings
The 37 ETFs added in March provide investors with an array of options to invest in. In terms of geographical focus, eight ETFs provide exposure to Apac, nine are global, 17 are investments into North America and the remaining three invest in the European market.
The most popular investment focus for funds launched in March was investment grade corporate Bonds. This is mostly due to BlackRock launches, but given the success of corporate bond ETFs so far in 2015, it is likely to be a growing trend.
Dividend focused ETFs also were a focus of ETF issuers with Direxion Funds, Global X and Nomura Asset Management using dividend strategy to draw in investors.
February flows
Funds added in February have enjoyed strong runs since inception, gaining $854m in assets. The global performance was dominated by Europe. Investors added $702m into the European funds launched in February, signalling a strong desire to gain access to the European market while talk of ECB QE continues.
Europe's largest attraction has been the LYXOR JPX NIKKEI 400 Part B USD Hedged ETF which gained $338m, providing European investors with access to Japanese large cap equities while hedging against currency fluctuation risk to the strengthening US Dollar. The iShares Euro Corporate Bond BBB-BB UCITS ETF also performed very well, with inflows of $263m since its February launch.
In the Americas, the largest inflows were welcomed by a new issue into the market, the Lattice Emerging Markets Strategy ETF which gained $22.3m in assets.
James Hohorst | ETF Analyst, Markit
Tel: +1 646 679 3012
james.hohorst@markit.com
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This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.