Citi has appointed Rimmo Jolly as head of regional index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) sales and business development for Asia Pacific (Apac) and Japan, according to an internal memo.

Jolly will be responsible for client relationships with ETF and index issuers, in coordination with the relationships management team; origination and marketing of ETF and indices in partnership with the existing salesforce across products; a particular focus on asset owners with developing and mature fixed income portfolios; as well as developing 'new resources and capabilities to support the growth' of ETF and ndices, such as hedging solutions, research, and quantitative tools to evaluate indexing across multiple instruments. Jolly will report to Julia Raiskin, managing director and head of G10 rates sales for Asia at the US bank.

Jolly will work closely with Chris Gooch, regional head for Europe, Middle East and Africa and other global partners on the creation of a global ETF and index offering, according to the memo. Jolly was regional head of prime sales in Hong Kong, before becoming a senior relationship manager for some of the 'most important accounts', including a number of asset managers active in ETFs and index strategies.

Kraneshares uses new Solactive EM consumer technology play

Solactive's new Emerging Markets consumer technology index is the reference index for the Kraneshares Emerging Markets Consumer Technology Index ETF trading on the NYSE Arca.

The index selects companies from 26 eligible countries within emerging markets whose primary business is internet retail, payment processing, software for internet and e-commerce transactions, among others. The index invests in technology-related shares selected based on specific liquidity and market capitalisation requirements. As of October 13, 2017, 58% of the index was composed of companies operating in industries such as internet and data services, software, and general merchandise retail.

The index is calculated on gross total return and is denominated in US dollars.

Hang Seng Composite Midcap index dispatched via new GF Fund LOF

Hang Seng Indexes has licensed its Composite MidCap Index to GF Fund Management as the underlying for the creation of an open-ended fund (LOF) listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The HSMI is a size index under the Hang Seng Composite Index and aims to track the performance of the Midcap sector of the Hong Kong stock market. The constituents of HSMI (excluding Reits) are eligible for trading via the southbound trading link of the Stock Connect scheme. As at September 29, 2017, the HSMI consisted of 184 constituents with a total market capitalisation of over HK$4.2tr. The new LOF will bring the number of exchange-traded products linked to indexes in the Hang Seng Family of Indexes to 67 - with listings on 17 different stock exchanges.

By the end of September 2017, assets under management in exchange-traded products linked to Hang Seng indices had reached a total of more than US$27bn.

Daiwa debuts with FTSE Blossom Japan index for new ESG ETF

FTSE Russell has licensed its Blossom Japan Index to Daiwa Asset Management as the underlying of a new ETF, listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange. The  investment is part of a new range of ESG-focused ETFs and the first to track the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, which was launched in July. The new FTSE Blossom Japan Index is constructed using FTSE Russell's ESG Ratings data model, which draws on existing international ESG standards, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The inclusion thresholds are aligned with the FTSE4Good Index Series.

Daiwa Asset Management has 35 ETFs with around JPY5.4tr in AUM (as of September 21).

WisdomTree and IQCIO launch model portfolios

Wisdomtree has launched its IQCIO risk-managed model portfolios in collaboration with IQCIO, a quantitative digital advisory solution developer. The portfolios incorporate market volatility in an asset allocation process that seeks to mitigate losses and maximise risk-adjusted returns. The models combine Wisdomtree's fundamentally-weighted investment approach with IQCIO's Intelligent Portfolio Optimizer for ETF selection and dynamic asset allocation.

The portfolios come in three versions (conservative, moderate or aggressive) and are available only for KIS Financial Advisors through the Envestnet Wealth Management Platform, and to advisors on wisdomtree.com.

Franklin Templeton launches MSCI-linked ETF on Xetra

Franklin Templeton has launched a new multi-factor emerging markets ETF, listed on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt and tracking the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, containing stocks from the 200 companies with the highest rating over the long term weighted by the four factors: quality, value, momentum and low volatility.

The product offering on Deutsche Börse's XTF comprises 1,179 ETFs.

Currency hedged ETPs also hit new record in September

Currency-hedged ETPs listed globally have increased by 33.5% in the first nine months of the year, reaching a new record of US$133.79bn by the end of September, according to ETFGI: in the US, the ETFs raised $48.37bn, in Europe $58.90bn, in Canada $21.37bn and in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) $3.42bn. Combining market moves and net inflows, currency-hedged ETP assets have increased by 33.5% from $100.18bn. At the end of September, there were currency-hedged ETPs hedged against 15 different currencies, with the most assets tracking exposures hedged against the US dollar, with assets of $55.13bn and $2.11bn net inflows this year.

Xtrackers gathered the largest net inflows from these ETPs in September, with US$431m, followed by Vanguard with US$217m and BNP Paribas Easy with US$118m net inflows.