Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) is set to enter the European exchange-traded fund (ETF) market following the appointment of Peter Thompson (pictured) as head of its European ETF business with immediate effect. The asset management arm of the US bank expects to launch its first fund in the first half of 2019. Thompson is based in London and reports to Michael Crineri, global head of GSAM ETFs.

Thompson rejoins Goldman Sachs from Source ETF the specialist firm he co-founded with Ted Hood which was sold to Invesco in 2016. He also acted as Source's president and interim chief executive officer after Hood's departure in 2016. Thompson, who was named Source president in September 2014, had also served as the firm's chief strategy officer with responsibility for overseeing a push into the US with the listing of an ETF on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014. However, Source later decided to pull back from the US and instead focus on its European business. The US ETF was closed in April 2015.

Prior to launching Source, Thompson spent ten years in various trading roles in Goldman Sachs' securities division. GSAM said the decision to enter the European ETF market was driven by client demand and that it would offer strategies similar to those in the US but tailored to European investors.

Horizons ETFs on a high

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) has announced new developments with its suite of Marijuana-focused ETFs. This includes the listing of futures contracts on the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF and the filing of a preliminary prospectus to launch leveraged, inverse and inverse leveraged ETFs that provide exposure to Canadian-listed Marijuana companies.

Horizons ETFs also filed a preliminary prospectus last week to launch three new ETFs that provide leveraged, inverse and inverse leveraged exposure to Canadian-listed Marijuana companies as represented by the Solactive Canadian Marijuana Companies Index. The Solactive Canadian Marijuana Companies Index is an index of investable equity securities of Canadian Marijuana companies that are listed on a Canadian exchange. The index tracks the price movements in shares of Canadian companies which are mainly active in the Marijuana industry. The index is published in Canadian dollars. These ETFs will be branded under Horizons ETFs' family of tactical BetaPro ETFs, and include the BetaPro Canadian Marijuana Companies 2x Daily Bull ETF; the BetaPro Canadian Marijuana Companies -2x Daily Bear ETF (HMJD); and the BetaPro Canadian Marijuana Companies Inverse ETF (HMJI).

O'Shares debuts global internet giants play

O'Shares ETF Investments has expanded its suite of quality ETFs with the launch of the O'Shares Global Internet Giants ETF, an ETF designed to provide investors with a global portfolio of 'high quality internet and e-commerce growth companies'

The ETF seeks to track the performance (before fees and expenses) of its target index, the O'Shares Global Internet Giants Index (OGIG). The target index is constructed using a proprietary, rules-based methodology designed to select equity securities from 2,500 global stocks in two main business segments, internet technology and internet commerce, by identifying companies in the following industries: internet software & services, systems software, application software and internet & direct marketing retail, selecting those that have exposure to two investment factors: quality and growth. The ETF portfolio will include over 50 large global stocks with a weighted average market cap of over US$200 billion. Some of the top 10 holdings in OGIG Index include Amazon (6.54%), Facebook (6.41%), Netflix (3.67%), Alibaba (6.65%) and Tencent (5.70%).

Amplify launches smart beta tactical ETF

Amplify ETFs has rolled out a new smart beta ETF strategy that switches between fast paced growth stocks and conservative fixed-income assets, depending on overall market trends.

The Amplify EASI Tactical Growth ETF, which has a 0.75% expense ratio, will track the performance of the EASI Tactical Growth Index, which attempts to take advantage of the investment returns provided during periods of upward acceleration in stock prices while seeking to shield from potential investment losses during periods of downward acceleration in stock prices. Depending on market signals, the underlying index is either in equity or fixed-income assets. The equity allocations may include equity securities and ETFs that invest in large-cap stocks. The fixed-income portion is comprised of five ETFs that cover investment-grade U.S. debt securities. In determining its allocation tilts, the index follows a "Tactical Allocation Signal which measures the monthly changes in price of equity components and compares monthly price change to the trailing twelve-month average, with the greatest measuring on the last three months.

Current top sector allocations include information technology 28.3%, financials 23.9% and health care 12.0%. Top holdings include Immersion Corp 2.1%, STMicroElectronics 2.1%, Amazon 2.1%, Align Technology 2.0% and Mammoth Energy 2.0%.

China Post Global deploys minimum variance approach

China Post Global has launched the Market Access Stoxx China A Minimum Variance Index Ucits ETF which includes a minimum variance approach on the country's onshore stockmarket.

The new ETF which has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.65%, will track the performance the Stoxx China A 900 Minimum Variance Unconstrained AM index. The index selects stocks from the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges based on their volatility and how much they are traded, with the aim of reducing overall volatility. Physically replicated, the ETF comprises of 135 holdings and the maximum weight per stock is capped at 8%.

The ETF is registered in the UK, Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Amundi unveils SRI US corporate bond ETF

Amundi ETF has expanded its environmental, social and governance (ESG) range with the launch of the Amundi Index US Corp - Ucits ETF DR.

The ETF will provide investors with exposure to the US dollar-denominated corporate bond market, while applying an ESG screening. The index will track the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Corporate SRI index which excludes issuers involved in alcohol, tobacco, military weapons, gambling, adult entertainment, GMO and nuclear power. The new ETF will have ongoing charges of 0.16%. The firm said the launch was in response to the growing demand for ESG products from investors.

Nomura to launch emerging market equity and bond ETFs

Nomura Asset Management has expanded its Next Funds product range with the launch of two new ETFs, the Next Funds Emerging Market Equity MSCI-EM (Unhedged) ETF and the Next Funds Emerging Market Bond JP Morgan EMBI Plus (Unhedged) ETF. The two new ETFs have been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) with a launch date of July 6 and a listing date of July 10. The new ETFs will both be added to a core asset range of six ETFs that launched last December.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index captures large and mid-cap representation across 24 Emerging Markets (EM) countries. With 845 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. The index is based on the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI) Methodology. The JPMorgan Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI) are a set of three bond indices to track bonds in emerging markets operated by JP Morgan. The indices are the Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus, the Emerging Markets Bond Index Global and the Emerging Markets Bond Global Diversified Index.