Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited has licensed the Hang Seng HK 35 to Hwabao WP Fund Management Co. to serve as the underlying index for the creation of a listed open-ended fund (LOF) listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The LOF track the performance of the Hang Seng HK 35 which comprises the 35 largest companies listed in Hong Kong, and reflects the performance of large-cap Hong Kong companies with sales revenue (or profits or assets if more relevant) generated from Hong Kong and/or areas outside mainland China.

The new fund brings the number of exchange-traded products (ETPs) linked to indexes in the Hang Seng Family of Indexes to 69-with listings on 17 different stock exchanges across the world. By the end of March 2018, assets under management in exchange-traded products linked to indexes in the Hang Seng Family of Indexes had reached a total of US$29billion.

US-listed ETPs see US$2.96bn in net outflows

US-listed ETPs suffered US$2.96bn net outflows during March 2018, the second consecutive monthly outflows in 2018 and the largest monthly amount since February 2018, when net outflows were US$10.6bn, according to ETFGI. Year-to-date net inflows reached US$65.2bn at the end of March which is significantly less than the US$133.62bn compare to this point last year. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)

According to ETFGI, assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in the US decreased by US$55.28bn during March 2018. The decrease of 1.58%, from US$3.4tr at the end of February 2018 to US$3.4tr at the end of March, also represents the worst monthly growth in assets since February 2018, which saw a monthly decrease of 3.99% from US$3.6tr to US$3.4tr.

At the end of March 2018, the US ETF industry had 1,873 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), assets of US$3.3tr, from 119 providers on three exchanges. At the end of March 2018, the US ETF/ETP industry had 2,180 ETFs/ETPs, assets of US$3.4tr, from 138 providers on three exchanges. The majority of these flows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net outflows, which collectively have suffered US$51.7bn during 2018. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY US) on its own accounted for net outflows of $14.5bn.

Equity ETFs/ETPs listed in the US suffered net outflows of US$8.3bn during March, bringing net inflows for 2018 to US$43.5bn, which is less than the US$96.3bn in net inflows at this point last year. Fixed income ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of US$4.05bn, growing net inflows for 2018 to US$12.6bn, which is less than the US$32.3bn in net inflows at this point last year. During March investors chose to move from US Equity ETFs to fixed income and commodities products, according to ETFGI.

JP Morgan debuts Swiss trackers

The ETF segment at Switzerland's Six exchange is gaining another high-profile provider following the launch of the first tracker funds by JP Morgan Asset Management. This takes the number of ETF providers available via Six to a new high of 24, and the number of ETFs to a record 1,352.

The new products include two active ETFs - the first to be listed with Six in two years. The new JP Morgan Asset Management products listed with Six include 'a diversified investment in bonds with very short maturities from a broad spectrum of corporate and government issuers with good ratings (investment-grade); an investment in emerging market bonds; an ETF on short-dated euro-denominated government bonds; and a solution that targets hedge fund-like returns through the use of derivatives'.

Global X deploys Solactive 'driverless' vehicles index

Global X has licensed the Solactive Autonomous & Electric Vehicles Index, to be used as the basis for the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV) listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The ETF tracks the performance of companies involved in the production of electric or hybrid vehicles and the development of self-driving technology, via Artis, a proprietary algorithm-based screening tool developed by Solactive. Artis - acronym for Algorithmic Theme Identification System - makes use of systems such as natural language processing to select companies that have best exposure to specific themes.

Industry forecasts show that the market for electric vehicles and autonomous driving will accelerate in the upcoming years, supported by factors such as climate regulation, technological advancements, consumer preferences, and falling costs, according to Solactive.

DWS expands suite of dividend income trackers

Xtrackers has launched three new dividend ETFs that include a quality filter as part of the securities selection process. The Xtrackers Morningstar US Quality Dividend Ucits ETF, the Xtrackers Morningstar Global Quality Dividend Ucits ETF and the Xtrackers MSCI World High Dividend Yield Ucits ETF have listed on the Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange.

All three new ETFs utilise quality screening to tilt towards securities with attractive fundamentals as well as sustainably high dividends. The index methodology for the Xtrackers MSCI World High Dividend Yield Ucits ETF screens out stocks with weak fundamentals based on return-on-equity, earnings variability and debt-to-equity, while also filtering out stocks with a negative or extremely high pay-out ratio and stocks that do not have a track record of persistent dividend payments.

The two Xtrackers ETFs tracking Morningstar indices take a different approach, utilising proprietary Morningstar analysis based on the firm's Economic Moat research methodology, which aims to build a picture of the fundamental health of a company inclusive of intangible factors such as brand impact, as well as other factors. The Morningstar quality screening therefore aims to look beyond accounting metrics.