A slew of crypto ETP launches and partnerships announced globally as firms harness their nimbleness by accessing other markets including Fidelity’s jump across the US-Canada border and the 21Shares partnership with ETF Securities down under.

Flows are beginning to trickle in and congrats to all of the winners and nominees from the recent ETF Stream awards.

Fund Launches and Updates

EUROPE

21Shares announced the listing of Polygon ETPs (ISIN: CH1129538448) on Euronext Paris in EUR (Ticker: MATIC FP) and USD on Euronext Amsterdam (Ticker: MATIC NA). Link

Bitcoin Capital AG released two new exchange-traded products on the SIX Swiss Exchange: the FiCAS Active Bitcoin ETP (BTCB) and FiCAS Active Ethereum ETP (ETHB). Link

BNP Paribas Asset Management announced plans to change its entire ETF range to ESG indices or the Paris Aligned Benchmark by 2022.

The process began last week with seven ETFs in the €8bn MSCI SRI S-Series 5% Capped range which will be classified as Article 9 after integrating PAB characteristics.

In addition, 11 more ETFs across its MSCI ex-controversial weapons and smart beta ranges will adopt ESG criteria and be classified as Article 8. Link

ETC Group has introduced 5 new physically-backed cryptocurrency exchange-traded products on the Deutsche Boerse with total expense ratios of 1.95%. HANetf is the distributor for the following ETPs:

DOTetc ETC Group Physical Polkadot (PLKA)

SOLetc ETC Group Physical Solana (ESOL)

XLMetc ETC Group Physical Stellar (STLR)

XTZetc ETC Group Physical Tezos (EXTZ)

ADAetc ETC Group Physical Cardano (RDAN) Link

Islamic and ESG investing specialist, Saturna Capital, will replace Almalia as the manager of its Shariah-compliant active equity ETF.

The rebranded product, the Saturna Al-Kawthar Global Focused Equity UCITS ETF, will trade on the LSE, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Boerse. The total expense ratio has been reduced from 0.99% to 0.75%. Link

WisdomTree has listed the WisdomTree Crypto Mega Cap Equal Weight (MEGA) on Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam. Link

The firm also launched a new broad commodity ETF, the WisdomTree Broad Commodities UCITS (PCOM), which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse with a management expense ratio of 0.19%. Link

AMERICAS

In Canada, Horizons ETFs expanded their thematic line-up with two new ETFs –the Horizons GX Cybersecurity Index ETF (“HBUG”) and the Horizons GX Telemedicine and Digital Health Index ETF (“HDOC”).

Toronto-based Purpose Investments has announced the launch of three new covered call and actively managed cryptocurrency ETFs.

The Purpose Bitcoin Yield ETF, Purpose Ether Yield ETF and Purpose Crypto Opportunities ETF which all began trading on the TSX last Tuesday. Link

Sometimes you have to be nimble and cross borders to get what you want.

After physical bitcoin rejections from the SEC, Fidelity Investments plans to join the spate of companies offering investors access to bitcoin through a Canadian ETF — the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF will invest in bitcoin directly or through derivative instruments. Link

In the U.S., Defiance ETFs is launching the Defiance Digital Revolution ETF (ticker NFTZ) on Thursday, which will track a blockchain-related-companies and non-fungible-token index it is one of the first ETFs to tap the booming market for NFTs. Link

Flows

According to Refinitiv data and a recent FT report, European flows into US equity ETFs industry surged to €27bn in the 10 months to the end of October 2021. Almost four times the €7bn of inflows recorded for US equities for the whole of last year.

In contrast, European equity ETFs listed in Europe had attracted only €5bn of inflows by the end of October, although this too was a significant jump on the €2bn achieved last year. Assets under management in the European ETF industry rose to about €1.3tn at the end of October.

US equities ETFs accounted for the lion’s share with combined assets under management of €286bn, followed by global equities (€181bn) and European equities (€136bn). Link

In November U.S. ETF flows remained strong despite increased market volatility. According to State Street Global Advisors’ U.S.-listed ETF flash flows November report, $68 billion flowed into ETFs over the course of the month, making it the thirteenth consecutive month of ETF inflows of more than $40 billion.

By the end of 2021, State Street expects ETF flows for the year to reach $847 billion, a 70 percent increase over last year’s record-setting $787 billion. Wow. Link

Noteworthy

ETF Securities and 21Shares are teaming up to develop Australia’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, as well as a state-of-the-art blockchain research and teaching centre.

Subject to regulatory approval, the ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH) will enable Australians to invest in Bitcoin and Ether through funds managed by ETF Securities, the world’s first issuer of a GOLD-backed ETP, in collaboration with 21Shares, the visionary crypto ETP provider.

21Shares manages around $3 billion in assets across its 20 European crypto ETPs and 80 listings. Link

Ex-Chancellor Philip Hammond said the UK must move quickly on digital assets to secure its post-Brexit advantage in financial services.

Lord Hammond, who recently joined crypto start-up Copper, believes digital assets could give London a unique edge over European competitors. In an interview with City A.M. the former chancellor of the exchequer said he hopes legislators will support the use of new technology to trade digital assets and create a tokenized financial services sector.

“I personally think the momentum is now unstoppable,” said Hammond. “If we don’t watch carefully we will find some surprising people are ahead of us,” he cautioned, warning that European competitors see digital assets as an opportunity to overtake the UK as a world financial services hub. Link

In an effort to facilitate the smooth implementation of the regulation by issuers, financial advisers and regulators, the European Commission has once again delayed the implementation of the second phase of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation until January 2023. Link

China and Singapore are “making good progress” in developing an exchange traded fund connectivity programme, according to a statement from China’s securities regulator.

China’s equities ETFs have surpassed Rmb1tn ($157bn) in aggregate assets in November, more than a decade and a half after the first onshore strategy came on the market.

The rapid growth of the onshore stock ETF market has benefited from a push from regulators and stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen and regional investor interest in China-linked ETF products has also grown, including in Singapore. Link

Congrats to all of the winners and shortlisted nominees for the ETF Stream award. It was great seeing everyone on Thursday. Link

Additional reads

Wall Street wants to sell a special index, Just for You. The biggest asset managers see customization—a blend of passive and active—as the future of investing. Link

WisdomTree Launches Diversified Crypto Exposures in the U.S. and Europe. Link

Credit Funds Signal More Pain as Record Cash Swamps Treasury ETF. Link

Pershing is getting into the direct indexing business as the RIA custodian revealed last week that it plans to acquire Optimal Asset Management. Link

Who doesn’t love the subject of taxes? Some active mutual fund investors may be getting a harsh reminder of why ETFs can have tax benefits over mutual funds in the U.S. Link

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said on Monday it had acquired Quantile Group for £274 million to expand its range of post-trade risk management solutions. Link

NYSE reveals sweeping changes to top leadership as first female President Stacey Cunningham and chair Jeffrey Sprecher are set to step aside. Link