JP Morgan Chase Financial has started trading its due 2037 Cushing 30 MLP Index exchange-traded notes (ETNs) due in 2037 on NYSE Arca. The ETNs are designed to track the performance of the Cushing 30 MLP Index as measured by its VWAP level. The ETNs may pay a variable quarterly coupon based on cash distributions on the components of the index, subject to the daily deduction of an investor fee of 0.95% per annum. The ETNs offer a weekly investor repurchase provision and will be redeemable, in whole or in part, at the sole discretion of JP Morgan on any business day on or after December 15, 2017.

The Cushing 30 MLP Index tracks the performance of publicly traded equity securities of 30 US-based companies that are engaged in, or that hold an entity that is engaged in, the midstream activities of transportation, storage, processing or production of energy commodities. These securities are chosen for inclusion in the index according to a proprietary valuation model developed by Cushing Asset Management that evaluates various financial criteria to rank potential companies for inclusion in the Index.

The index was developed by Cushing Asset Management, LP, as index sponsor, and is calculated, maintained and published by S&P Dow Jones Indices, as index calculation agent.

UBS banker gears up to launch Cryptocurrency Fund

Switzerland-based Crypto Fund is planning to launch the Cryptocurrency Fund, a new index-based, non-listed passive product according to the Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (KAG), which provides a regulated access to cryptocurrencies for professional investors. The fund will be based on an undisclosed cryptocurrency index which tracks the most important cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple, Zcash, Monero, and other well-established cryptocurrencies. The Swiss Fund will be registered with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma and embodies the first diversified investment vehicle for digital assets available to professional investors.

Jan Brzezek, CEO of Crypto Fund, said the new fund will respond to the growing demand of qualified investors 'for a regulated and transparent gateway to cryptocurrencies'. 'We need to adopt this new underlying to a proven and recognized legal framework allowing qualified investors to invest in cryptocurrencies,' said Brzezek. 'Unlike the Winklevoss-ETF, which was rejected by the SEC (US Securities and Exhange Commission), we use the regulated and proven Swiss fund structure according to KAG (Kollektivanlagengesetz), where the asset manager, the fund management company and the custodian bank are legally separate from each other.'

The launch of the fund is expected for Q4 2017. Initial discussions with Finma have already taken place.

Nuveen expands ESG offering

Asset manager and pension specialist TIAA-CREF's subsidiary Nuveen has added to its series of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds with the launch of two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the NuShares ESG International Developed Markets Equity ETF and NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF.

As their name implies, both tracker funds will tackle their respective segments of the international markets - developed and emerging countries - with an ESG twist. Both will track custom TIAA benchmarks that have their beginnings in more traditional indexes.

The NuShares ESG International Developed Markets Equity ETF will track the MSCI EAFE Index and apply various ESG screening criteria using data collected by MSCI ESG Research. This includes a firm's impact on climate change, natural resource use, relations with employees, sourcing practices and business ethics metrics. The ETF will also screen for how a stock complies with national and international regulations. The NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF will do the same for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

The idea is that by screening for various ESG criteria, investors can not only make decent returns but put their values into their portfolios, stated the firm. Expenses for The NuShares ESG International Developed Markets Equity ETF run at 0.40%, or $40 per $10,000 invested, while the NuShares ESG Emerging Markets Equity ETF charges 0.45%.

Nuveen has six open-ended structured funds available in the US retail market.

Aptus launches actively-managed index-linked tracker fund with a tail hedge

US firm Aptus Capital Advisors has submitted a filing with the SEC in preparation to launch its second ETF offering, a passive fund that tracks an actively-managed index. The Aptus Fortified Value ETF (FTVA) will be listed on the Bats exchange, and will track the Aptus Fortified Value Index, a proprietary index that features an equity component as well as a tail hedge, which the index manager can implement at its discretion when it feels stocks are overvalued.

The index's equity component comprise the 50 common stocks and real estate investment trusts (Reits) with the highest Aptus Value Composite Score, equally-weighted and subject to a limit of no more than 15 securities in an individual sector. The equity component is reconstituted quarterly, and securities are only removed from the index at the time of a reconstitution if their Aptus Value Composite Score has fallen below the top 40th percentile of the Aptus Value Composite Scores of all securities eligible for inclusion in the Index.

The index's tail hedge seeks to provide protection from significant market declines during months when the market is deemed overvalued. As of the second-to-last business day of each month, the index calculates the US equity market's "Q Ratio", a measure of the total market capitalization of the US equity market divided by the net worth of US companies. When the Q Ratio as calculated is in the 3rd quartile or higher based on its history, the tail hedge is implemented on the next business day (i.e., the last business day of the month). Once the tail hedge is implemented, it remains in place for the full month.

This is the second ETF listed by Aptus following the launch of the Aptus Behavioral Momentum ETF (BEMO), has an expense ratio of 0.79%.

Wealthfront applies multiple investment factors to tilt the weighting of stocks

Wealthfront has launched Advanced Indexing, the latest addition to its PassivePlus range of peer reviewed, rules-based strategies that aim to increase a client's after-tax return while maintaining the same level of risk. Advanced Indexing joins Wealthfront's previous two PassivePlus features, daily tax-loss harvesting and stock-level tax-loss harvesting known as Direct Indexing, which are offered at no additional cost to its 0.25% annual advisory fee.

Conceived by its team of PhDs led by Dr. Burton Malkiel, chief investment officer and Jakub Jurek, vice president of research, Advanced Indexing applies multiple investment factors to tilt the weighting of stocks that make up the US stock allocation of a client's diversified portfolio. Multi-factor models have been used by institutional investors since the 1970s and more recently were recognized by the Nobel Prize awarded in 2013.

'Recently we've seen a proliferation of factor-based strategies in the form of Smart Beta ETFs, but 95% of them fail to capitalize on the diversification potential from optimizing exposure across multiple factors,' said Jurek. 'Wealthfront's Advanced Indexing combines academically robust, time-tested factors with our Direct Indexing to improve client's after-tax returns. Moreover, we deliver this at no incremental cost to the client, unlike Smart Beta ETFs.'

Advanced Indexing improves on existing smart beta ETFs in three ways:

Multiple Factors: By combining five relatively uncorrelated factors that include; value, momentum, dividend yield, market beta and volatility, Advanced Indexing is likely to outperform a traditional market capitalization weighted index fund over the long-run, while minimizing the potential for underperformance. A 2016 report from Morningstar, finds that only 5% of Smart Beta ETFs apply a multi-factor portfolio construction methodology.

No Management Fee: Wealthfront does not charge a management fee for Advanced Indexing, which means the benefits accrue entirely to the client. Issuers of Smart Beta ETFs typically charge an incremental management fee that eats up the benefit the retail investor would receive.

Tax Efficiency: Wealthfront offers a unique combination of Advanced Indexing with its Direct Indexing in order to use the losses harvested through Direct Indexing to minimize the gains that are subject to taxes. This approach is not possible in a fund structure because the Investment Company Act of 1940 prohibits fund issuers from distributing losses.

Pershing rolls-out NTF platform

BNY Mellon's Pershing has launched FundVest ETF, its new no-transaction-fee (NTF) ETF platform. The NTF platform requires no purchase minimums or holding period, and will be available to all Pershing clients.

The solution adds to Pershing's existing mutual fund NTF platform, FundVest. 'As the demand for ETFs continues to increase, we are pleased to bring our clients a diverse selection of no-fee ETFs offered on an independent, open architecture platform,' said Justin Fay, Pershing's director of Financial Solutions, responsible for alternative investments and ETFs. 'This new offering reaffirms our commitment to expanding the suite of low-cost investment solutions available to our clients as they continue to implement ETFs more frequently within portfolios in an effort to more efficiently meet investor financial goals.'

Pershing clients will have full access to the variety of funds available on FundVest ETF via the ETF Center on NetX360. The ETF Center also includes articles and research through both Morningstar and Lipper, and provides tools that allow advisors to search, screen and compare ETFs side by side.

Exponential ETFs bets on well-known brands

Exponential ETFs and Brandometry have launched the Brand Value ETF, which is designed to outperform the broader market by identifying companies with strong brands whose latent value has not yet been realized by their stock price by tracking the BrandTransact 50 Index. The ETF has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The BrandTransact 50 Index, Powered by Wilshire, represents a primarily large-cap portfolio that provides the benefits of intelligent security selection in a passive rules-based format. The index equally weights the top 50 companies within the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index that exhibit a discount of brand and intangible asset value to market cap.

The Brand Value ETF captures and capitalizes on the work of Brandometry to quantify the brand value of publicly traded companies, said Phil Bak, CEO of Exponential ETFs. The BrandTransact 50 Index is underpinned by brand performance data from Tenet Partners, a co-developer of the index.

The Brand Value ETF follows the 2016 launch of the American Customer Satisfaction Core Alpha ETF, a first-of-its-kind product that deploys a proprietary methodology to invest in stocks based on the individual companies' customer satisfaction scores.

Guggenheim Investments places 39 ETFs on Pershing's platform

Guggenheim Investments, the global asset management and investment advisory business of Guggenheim Partners, has announced that its Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) and 16 of its BulletShares defined maturity ETFs are among 39 ETFs it has placed on the no-transaction-fee (NTF) ETF platform, FundVest ETF, launched by BNY Mellon's Pershing.

'Equal weight strategies represent an alternative to traditional cap-weighted strategies, which have several potential drawbacks. Cap-weighting can lead to overconcentration in a small group of the index's largest stocks,' said William H. Belden, head of ETF product development at Guggenheim Investments. 'Additionally, cap-weighting can cause a bias towards companies that have experienced growth runs. This may hinder performance by overweighting overvalued stocks and, conversely, underweighting undervalued ones.'