Point Bridge Capital, a Texas-based investment firm, has filed a request with the US SEC to list the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will invest in stocks from companies that are highly supportive of federal Republican candidates including US President Donald Trump. The Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF, the new passive product will carry the ticker MAGA, which stands for President Trump's campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again'. According to the filing, the US-listed tracker will invest in companies which have employees or activities that are linked to Republican candidates for election to senior positions.

The ETF uses a passive management approach to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker Index, which tracks the performance of companies 'whose employees and political action committees (PACs) are highly supportive of Republican candidates for election to the United States Congress, the Vice Presidency, or the Presidency.'

The Index is composed of the common stock of public operating companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) included in the S&P 500 Index. The universe is then screened using electoral campaign contribution data from the Federal Election Commission (the FEC) to eliminate companies whose employee households and PAC have made aggregate reported political contributions of less than $25,000 across the two most recent election cycles. Each election cycle spans two full calendar years, and the most recent election cycle ended December 31, 2016.

The top 150 companies based on such rankings are included in the index at the time of each reconstitution of the Index. The ETF will be available for trading beginning September 7.

SEC and NYU to host forum on ETPs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and New York University will host a forum in September to examine the fast growing market for exchange-traded products (ETPs) and its implications for investors. The event, hosted by SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis and NYU's Salomon Center for the Study of Financial Institutions, will bring together regulators, industry members, and academics for a half-day dialogue on September 8.

According to the SEC, since the first ETP was introduced in 1993, the ETP market has expanded to nearly 2,000 different securities holding more than US$2.7tr of assets.  While the first ETPs tracked stock-market indices, the market now includes ETPs that track other market indices as well as actively managed ETPs that invest in stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, futures, options, and other derivative products.

'Exchange-traded products, once novel instruments, now account for nearly one-third of trading volume on US exchanges,' said SEC chairman Jay Clayton. 'It is important that we examine the impact of these products on our markets and Main Street investors.'

The event will be held at SEC headquarters at 100 F Street NE, Washington, D.C.

Hamilton Capital targets US mid-cap financials

Hamilton Capital Partners Inc. has launched the Hamilton Capital US Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (HFMU.U), a new tracker fund seeking long-term returns in US dollars, consisting of capital growth and dividends from an actively managed equity portfolio of, primarily, United States-based mid-cap (i.e., those firms with a market capitalization between US$500m and US$20bn) financial services companies.

With an aggregate market capitalization in excess of US$2tr, the US mid-cap financial services sector is as large as the Canadian equity markets, and includes over 500 companies, according to Hamilton Capital.

HFMU.U is anticipated to be comprised primarily of mid-cap financial services companies based in the United States. HFMU.U's investments may however be selected from any country, capitalization level or subsector of the global financial services sector. Specifically, the portfolio may include, but is not limited to, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, brokerages, asset managers, exchanges, real estate investment trusts and other investment companies.

HFMU.U complements Hamilton Capital's other ETF offerings including the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (HBG), which is ~15% ahead of the global bank index, and; the Hamilton Capital Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY), which has a dividend yield of 4.8%.

Turner Investments to acquire Elkhorn Capital

Turner Investments has announced its acquisition of Elkhorn Capital Group, an ETF firm founded by industry pioneer Ben Fulton, a former PowerShares executive.

Turner Investments' will shift from active management, after closing its last three equity mutual funds, moving into ETFs through acquiring Elkhorn Capital Group. Elkhorn has a number of factor-based or smart beta strategies, including two smart beta commodity strategies, along with a line of mid-cap sector ETFs. Turner will close out its three existing mutual funds Mid-cap Growth (TMGFX), Small Cap Growth (TSCEX), and Titan Long/Short (TSPCX), which collectively have just US$135m in assets as of July, in September.

The acquisition provides Turner with a cohesive team with 25 years of experience in ETFs, unit investment trusts (UITs), and exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which will complement Turner's background in mutual funds and separately managed accounts. Turner strategies will be managed using the company's proprietary investment processes, which are built around a global technology platform bolstered by a disciplined factor- and proprietary models-based approach.

Turner's strategies will cover all asset classes, from fixed income and equities to commodities and alternatives. Beta plus and strategic alpha products will be designed to produce alpha utilising an underlying index or beta strategy globally and across all asset classes. Investment themes will also include a series of global and international equity; momentum; absolute return; environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies; and fixed income strategies.

As a result of the acquisition, Ben Fulton (pictured) will be appointed head of global ETFs while Jordan Golz, another Elkhorn executive, will be appointed global ETF product and business development at Turner.

Franklin Templeton debuts two new municipal bond ETFs

Franklin Templeton Investments has added two new actively managed municipal bond ETFs to its Franklin LibertyShares lineup for US investors-Franklin Liberty Intermediate Municipal Opportunities ETF (FLMI) and Franklin Liberty Municipal Bond ETF (FLMB)-expanding its active fixed income ETF offering.

The new municipal bond ETFs, listed on NYSE Arca, seek to provide investors with a high level of current income that is exempt from federal income taxes by investing at least 80% of their net assets in municipal securities whose interest is free from federal income taxes, including federal alternative minimum tax. The two ETFs are generally differentiated by the dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity levels they target and the credit ratings of municipal securities they may purchase:

Franklin Liberty Intermediate Municipal Opportunities ETF (FLMI) may invest in municipal securities rated in any rating category, including below investment grade and defaulted securities, and seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of three to 10 years. Franklin Liberty Municipal Bond ETF (FLMB) only invests in municipal securities rated, at the time of purchase, in one of the top four ratings categories by one or more US nationally recognized rating services (or comparable unrated or short-term rated securities), and seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of five to 15 years.

Through the LibertyShares ETF platform, the firm currently offers a suite of actively managed ETFs, which includes two equity funds and now four fixed income funds. LibertyQ, the smart beta suite, includes seven equity ETFs covering US, emerging markets, international and global equity strategies and an income-focused global equity strategy.

GraniteShares looks to raise the BAR in standards, and lower the BAR on price

GraniteShares, the ETF provider focused on disruption through 'new exposures, better structures and low-cost investments', has launched the launch of the GraniteShares Gold Trust (BAR). The fund began trading last week and boasts the lowest expense ratio of all gold ETFs in the marketplace at 20 basis points.

BAR is the third fund in the GraniteShares product suite, joining the GraniteShares Bloomberg Commodity Broad Strategy No K-1 ETF (COMB) and the GraniteShares S&P GSCI Commodity Broad Strategy No K-1 ETF (COMG), both of which launched in May 2017.

GraniteShares is seeking to build a suite of disruptive and innovative no K-1 commodities funds, and is working with BNY Mellon and ICBC Standard Bank owner of one of the largest vaults in Europe, to offer state-of-the art custody and vaulting solutions to investors.