Anyone reading this sits within the ETF bubble, and within the bubble we all assume a base level of knowledge of the ETF ecosystem.

However, outside of the bubble, the level of knowledge around ETFs is pitifully low and we are not talking about the man and woman in the street, but the professionals within the wider asset management space. Perhaps in the US, the average individual has more financial education, but for sure in Europe and Asia most people have no idea what an ETF is.

Now to us that is a massive problem, but also a massive opportunity.

Despite all the hard work the industry has done around education it is still barely scratched the surface.

So, imagine just being able to change that by a few percentage points, how much opportunity it would bring. Gets you excited, right?

 

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

 

Amundi is shifting two ETFs domiciled in Luxembourg to its Irish collective management vehicle (ICAV) including its €4bn S&P 500 ESG ETF.

In a shareholder notice, the group said the Amundi S&P 500 ESG UCITS ETF (S500) would merge with its ICAV duplicate on 18 October while the €2.5bn Amundi MSCI USA ESG Leaders Select UCTS ETF (SADU) will transfer on 15 September. etfstream

 

HSBC Asset Management has launched Europe’s first sukuk ETF, providing exposure to Islamic bonds globally. The HSBC Global Sukuk UCITS ETF launched as a new ETF class of an existing fund that was launched in January 2023. investmentweek

 

DWS has launched Financial Information eXchange (FIX) connectivity for its authorised participant (AP) portal to help streamline the ETF creation-redemption process.

FIX connectivity will allow a direct connection between ETF issuers and APs’ order management systems, reducing operational risks and offering front-to-back automation across primary and secondary markets. etfstream

 

AMERICAS

 

Franklin Templeton has filed for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, becoming the latest traditional asset management firm to join the crowded race.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Franklin Templeton proposed a Coinbase-custodied ETF that would trade on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. It has not yet proposed a ticker for the product. coindesk

 

The Nasdaq stock exchange filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list an Ethereum ETF from Brazilian asset manager Hashdex that wants to hold both spot ether and futures contracts.

Called the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF, the fund is managed and controlled by Toroso Investments. theblock

 

An ETF that started trading on Thursday offers investors a new way to participate in the hot market for short-dated equity options, a risky trading strategy that has enthralled markets over the last year.

Defiance ETFs LLC launched the Defiance Nasdaq-100 Enhanced Option Income ETF, the first ETF to use daily options income generation, the ETF sponsor said in a press release.The ETF seeks to tap into the dual popularity of short-dated options contracts and the heightened interest in ETFs that seek to generate income through a combination of selling options and investing in U.S. large cap stocks. reuters

 

Global X ETFs has launched a defense technology exchange-traded fund that aims to capitalize on rising defense spending.

The Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD), which made its debut on Wednesday, tracks companies that focus on security and defense applications of technology such as cybersecurity, advanced weapons systems and security-related artificial intelligence. etf.com

 

J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced the launch of two actively-managed ETFs, JPMorgan Global Select Equity ETF (JGLO) and JPMorgan International Value ETF (JIVE) on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.

These funds invest in equity securities and will benchmark to the MSCI World Index and MSCI ACWI ex USA Value Index, respectively. prnewswire

 

Amplify ETFs launches cash-flow fund on the Nasdaq. The $4.4 billion asset manager, which acquired the ETFs of the ETF Managers Group in June, has announced the launch of the Amplify Cash Flow Dividend Leaders ETF (COWS).

The fund’s ticker, COWS, reflects the fact that these firms are often branded “cash cows.” investmentnews

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

 

BlackRock has partnered with Singapore Exchange to make itsAsia climate action exchange-traded fund available to retail investors in Singapore, the latest in a string of moves conducted by the firm to boost its environmental, social and governance investing-related initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.

The iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF was listed on the Singapore Exchange on Thursday. With US$426 million in total assets as of launch, it is the largest equity ETF introduced in the city-state. ignites

 

Chinese insurance companies have increased their investments in Chinese A-share and Hong Kong stocks through exchange-traded funds, despite continued volatility in both markets in the first half of the year, the 21st Century Business Herald reports.

The total number of ETF shares held by mainland insurance companies has doubled to about 128 billion shares, a significant increase from the 75.7 billion shares as of end-2022. ignites

 

Exchange Traded People

 

 

A podcast series focused on exploring the career journey of industry leaders within the ETF and Digital Assets space. Get to hear their personal story and be inspired.

This week we speak to Jana Haines former Chief Strategy Officer at ARK Investment Management. Listen to her here.

 

Flows

 

 

Global ETF Inflows Drop 28% in August, BlackRock Says.

Flows into global ETFs slowed down in August, as investors added money to tech sector funds and emerging markets but as flows into equity and bond funds moderated, BlackRock said.

Global exchange-traded funds received $65 billion in inflows globally, down from $90 billion in July, according to a new report released by the company. Flows into equity funds fell to roughly $46 billion from $61 billion in July and bond fund inflows fell to $22 billion from $32 billion—though tech investment for 2023 has already passed 2022 levels. Etf.com

 

CoinShares, reports Ethereum outflows of $4.8 million the previous week, making it the least loved digital asset for ETP investors.

This brings year-to-date outflows at $108 million, or 1.6% of assets under management (AuM) as of the Sept. 11 report. Investing.com

 

DWS’s European ETFs pulled in more than $2bn of new money in August, comfortably beating BlackRock’s iShares division, the region’s largest ETF firm which frequently tops sales charts.

According to data from ETFGI, DWS’s Xtrackers unit posted $2.5bn of net inflows last month. That made the Frankfurt-headquartered asset manager Europe’s number one ETF provider for the month, piling pressure on BlackRock as rivals fight it out for market share in a lucrative market.

Xtrackers, Europe’s third-largest ETF firm, surpassed its two largest peers for new money gathered during August.

ETFGI figures show iShares recorded net inflows of $2bn last month, while Amundi ETF accumulated $1.6bn.The latest monthly haul for Xtrackers means the ETF business of DWS, which is majority owned by Deutsche Bank, has gathered $12.7bn of new money since the start of 2023, making it the second best-selling provider across Europe so far this year. fnlondon

 

Noteworthy

 

The ETFs represented 12% of MPS holdings by number, down from 15.4% in 2022, according to Morningstar’s latest UK-managed portfolios landscape report.

Meanwhile, index funds dominated offerings, with almost half of the 1,100 MPS analysed by Morningstar describing themselves as either passive or a blend of active and passive. Of the top 10 most held funds, eight were index mutual funds with no ETFs. morningstar

 

Movers and Shakers

 

Ryan Cvrkel has joined the US ETF business development team at Susquehanna.

 

BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Kay Winistörfer as its ETF sales specialist for Switzerland.

 

From behind the Desk

 

It seems BlackRock’s decision to revert to a four day a week in the office policy has not gone down well with its staff and has really disillusioned a lot of them.

We keep asking to ourselves the question, why would you risk pissing off your entire staff for the sake of an extra day in the office when rather than make people more productive as we assume was the goal, it will end up having the opposite effect.

Sometimes very smart people can make really foolish decisions, but that’s human nature we guess.