We never quite understand the logic of regulators.

Their objective or so we would imagine is to protect investors and facilitate the means for them to access the markets in a safe and efficient manner.

Yet, they always seem to do the exact opposite.

The latest is the Central Bank of Irelands insistence that any asset managers adding an ETF share class to an Irish-domiciled product must rename an entire product umbrella and include the identifier UCITS ETF, regardless of the amount of assets actually in the product e.g. you have a mutual fund with $99 in assets and you add an ETF share class to it which has $1 in assets.

According to the CBIs rules, you would need to change the entire name of the fund to include “UCITS ETF” even though 99% of the assets still belong in the mutual fund. Madness

Thankfully the Luxembourg regulator in Europe has a bit more common sense and doesn’t apply such a naming convention.

 

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

 

HANetf, a white-label issuer is set to launch an ETF tracking companies identified by Société Générale to benefit from Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the European Green Deal. etfstream

HANetf has reduced the fees on clean energy and solar ETFs in a bid to attract a broader range of investors.

Effective 1 June, the total expense ratio of the HANetf S&P Global Clean Energy Select HANzero UCITS ETF (ZERO) will be reduced from 0.55% to 0.39%, while the Solar Energy UCITS ETF (TANN) will see its TER cut from 0.69% to 0.49% making it the the cheapest solar ETF in Europe. etfstream

DWS has bolstered its range of sustainable exchange traded funds with the launch of a product focused on Nordic equities. The Xtrackers Nordic Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned Ucits ETF has been listed on Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange. Ignites

Credit Suisse Asset Management is to close a German equity product in its exchange traded fund line-up after a fall in assets under management. The firm plans to terminate the CSIF (IE) DAX 50 ESG Blue Ucits ETF on June 9.

The vehicle will be delisted from the Six Swiss Exchange on June 6. ignites

Rize ETF, a European thematic ETF issuer has introduced a new fund targeting companies that are facilitating the transition to a so-called ‘circular economy’.

The Rize Circular Economy Enablers UCITS ETF has been listed on London Stock Exchange in US dollars (CYCL LN) and pound sterling (CIRC LN), on Deutsche Börse Xetra in euros (CIRC GY), and on SIX Swiss Exchange in Swiss francs (CYCL SW).The ETF comes with an expense ratio of 0.45%. etfstrategy

 

AMERICAS

 

Franklin Templeton has bought for Putnam for $925M on Putnam as it seeks to build a $50 billion ETF business over next few years. etf.com

 

Goldman Sachs takes aim at JPMorgan’s billions with copycat ETFs. The runaway success of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s actively managed exchange-traded fund lineup has Goldman Sachs Group Inc. playing catchup.

The Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Premium Income and the Goldman Sachs U.S. Tech Index Equity Premium Income ETFs will invest primarily in US stocks and also use a derivatives strategy known as call writing.

The proposed ETFs bear a striking resemblance to two of JPMorgan’s standout products: the $26 billion JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (ticker JEPI) and the $3.3 billion JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ), which also track US stocks and sell call options. bloomberg

 

Northern Lights Fund announced that the LifeGoal Home Down Payment Investment ETF (NYSE: HOM), LifeGoal Conservative Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: SAVN) and LifeGoal Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: WLTH) are to close following a review of market demand. yahoo

Metaverse ETF PUNK closing after betting against Meta’s vision. An ETF with a stated purpose of betting against Meta’s view of the Metaverse is shutting down after a little more than 15 months and a nearly 30% loss.

Subversive Capital Advisor will close and liquidate the Subversive Metaverse ETF, ticker PUNK, as the firm pivots to artificial intelligence. cryptonews

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

 

Korean retail investors pile into ETFs after the Korea Exchange revised rules to unveil new ETF products, relax disclosure mandates and improve the listing review regulation process for ETFs, exchange-traded notes and equity-linked warrants.

As a result locally listed ETFs saw total assets surge to US$60B last year, helping to offset the 8.8% dip in mutual fund assets that pulled down wider domestic funds industry. ignites

 

Flows

 

• Assets invested in digital asset ETFs and ETPs listed globally have increased 63.6% year-to-date in 2023 going from $5.81 Bn at end of 2022 to $9.51 Bn at end of April.
• Year-to-date net inflows of $43.59 Bn in 2023 are the second highest on record, after year-to-date net inflows in 2021 of $61.15 Bn.
• Year-to-date net inflows of $98 Mn during 2023 are third highest on record, while the highest recorded YTD net inflows were of $2.69 Bn for 2021, followed by YTD net inflows of $314 Mn for 2022.

 

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 Axel Lomholt, General Manager and Chief Product Officer at Qontigo, based in Switzerland.  Alex talks how an interest in engineering led to his a career in asset management, what he learned from his time working in Asia, why letting things play out is sometimes the best strategy and how learning to manage grief tax is key to success in any role. LISTEN TO ALEX HERE.

 

Noteworthy

 

Ireland’s financial regulator has ruled out relaxing naming rules for mutual fund ranges that have exchange traded fund share classes, despite the jurisdiction having a competitive disadvantage compared with rival Luxembourg.

The Central Bank of Ireland requires Ucits funds to include “Ucits ETF” in each sub-fund name if it offers any ETF share classes alongside mutual fund classes. ignites

State Street Global Advisors looks to tokenise ETFs and private assets. etfstream

 

Additional reads

 

Vanguard, Invesco and Axa Investment Managers have joined a group of financial institutions that intend to put forward a bid to establish an EU consolidated tape, ETF Stream reports.

The initiative focused on the joint development of a user-governed, real-time pre and post-trade consolidated tape for equities and exchange traded funds, which is led by French consultancy Adamantia, was first launched last month with the backing of 14 financial services groups, including BlackRock, DWS and Natixis Investment Managers. ignites

 

Movers and Shakers

 

A new segment to the newsletter focusing on people moves within the industry.

Fiona Bassett is to join the FTSE Russell Group as CEO.  Fiona will start with the Group later this summer and be based in New York.

 

From Behind the Desk

 

Many people have expressed their exasperation to us recently about the change in company policy from many firms about returning to work full time and abandoning the hybrid model.

It has made them feel like stepping off the hamster and doing something else.

Just remember you choose what you want to do. Recognise you have choices. If you don’t like it then start taking action.

Everything starts with the first step.