The Winklevoss twins have failed again in their attempt to list shares of what could have been the first ever cryptocurrency exchange-traded-fund (ETF). The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stood by its decision from last year to block the bitcoin ETF trade, voting down a proposal from Bats BZX Exchange to list and trade the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust's commodity-based shares by three votes to one on July 26, citing concerns over market manipulation and investor protection.
The US watchdog, however, emphasised that its disapproval does not rest on an evaluation of whether bitcoin, or blockchain technology has value as an innovation or investment. In 2013, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of crypto exchange Gemini, submitted an application to launch the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, but it was turned down in March last year. The application was resubmitted in June. While a bitcoin ETP trading already exists in Sweden, VanEck, RexETFs and Direxion Investments are applicants that are waiting for SEC to take action on their proposal to launch the product.
BOJ increases ETF purchases
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) changes its composition of ETF buying by increasing its purchases of the products that track the Topix index to JPY4.2 trillion from JPY2.7 trillion now. This came after the central bank held its monetary policy meeting on July 30 and 31. The overall annual ETF buying target, however, remains unchanged as the central bank will cut its purchases for ETFs linked to other indices such as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400. The total amount of annual ETF purchases by the BOJ stands at JPY5.7 trillion.
Invesco adds to smart beta
Invesco has boosted its smart beta line-up with eight new fixed-income ETFs that incorporate factors into their methodologies. All of the new ETFs are linked to Invesco's proprietary indices, developed by Invesco Indexing, Invesco's self-indexing business unit. 'With the launch of the new self-indexed Fixed Income Factor Suite, investors have a new way to gain broad-based exposure in fixed income, while using factors to navigate the challenges in the current rising rate environment,' said Dan Draper, global head of ETFs at Invesco, in a statement. With the addition of the products, Invesco now has 84 ETFs in its factor line-up.
First Trust bets on factor rotation
First Trust has partnered up with Lunt Capital Management to launch an equity factor rotation ETF, according to reports. The so-called 'First Trust Lunt US Factor Rotation ETF' offers exposure to large cap equities in the US by rotating among select factors. It tracks the proprietary Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index that follows a risk-adjusted relative strength methodology.
Global X deploys new Wilshire indices
Global X Funds has launched two ETFs - the Global X TargetIncome 5 ETF (TFIV) and the Global X Target Income Plus 2 ETF (TFLT). Both products track indices developed by Wilshire Associates that allocate across 11 ETFs representing different income-paying asset classes. 'By combining Wilshire's robust multi-asset analytics and deep institutional allocation expertise, we've structured indexes that aim to target specific yield objectives while mitigating risks,' said Jason Schwarz, president of Wilshire Analytics and Wilshire Funds Management. The TFIV seeks to achieve a 5% yield, net of fees, while TFLT seeks to achieve the yield on the current 10-year US Treasury note, plus 2%. Both ETFs are expected to pay distributions on a monthly basis.