Inducements is a very hot topic at the moment, so we were intrigued to see the results of a global CFA study, where only 34% of respondents believe think that inducement payments should be banned, with respondents citing concerns that this could negatively impact on the variety of products offered to clients and the quality of advice they get.

As opposed to an outright ban, investment professionals in the EU instead favoured increasing efforts on financial literacy and investor education (59%) and mandating clear disclosure of all commission payments received by distributors before investments are made (55%) as more effective methods of preventing mis-selling.

This begs the question, rather than pushing regulators into action and aiming for a top-down solution, should the ETF industry be doing more to educate the end investor and let the solution come from the ground up?

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

Global X launches the S&P 500 Quarterly Buffer UCITS ETF (SPQB) and the Global X S&P 500 Quarterly Tail Hedge UCITS ETF (SPQH) on Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange with (TERs) of 0.50%. etfstream

HSBC AM shuts last Russia ETF in Europe. etfstream

Natixis and Solactive partner on Direct Indexing SMAs. nasdaq

Swarm launches first stocks and ETFs trading platform using DeFi. Swarm, a Berlin-based fintech company will offer just Apple, Tesla, and two US Treasury Bond ETFs via fully asset-backed tokens based on the Polygon blockchain. altfi.com

 

AMERICAS

Horizon Kinetics has introduced a new actively managed global equity ETF providing thematic exposure to traditional energy companies as well as firms developing remediation technologies that reduce the environmental impact of carbon-based energy production.

The Horizon Kinetics Energy & Remediation ETF (NVIR US) has been listed on NYSE Arca with a TER 0.85%. etfstrategy

Global X ETFs has expanded its suite of systematic covered call strategies in the US with the launch of two new funds based on ESG-tailored versions of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.

The Global X S&P 500 ESG Covered Call ETF (XYLE US) and Global X Nasdaq 100 ESG Covered Call ETF (QYLE US) have been listed on NYSE Arca and Nasdaq with a TER of 0.60%. etfstrategy

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

The ETF price war is on in Australia as Betashares and iShares slashes fees. afr.com

 

 

CLICK to listen stories from inspiring leaders. This week we speak with Will Rhind, Founder & CEO at GraniteShares based in NY.

 

Flows

 

Invesco gold ETC suffers over $1bn outflows amid hawkish Fed prospects.

According to data from ETFLogic, the Invesco Physical Gold ETC (SGLD) has seen $1.2bn outflows in 2023, the most across all ETFs listed in Europe, while the iShares Physical Gold ETC (IGLN) has suffered $237m redemptions over the same period, as at 20 February. etfstream

CoinShares, the European digital asset manager reports 97% drop in 2022 income after heavy FTX losses.

The company recorded total income of GBP 3 million (US$3.63 million) in 2022, down 97% compared to 2021, as the firm felt the pinch of FTX’s collapse and its ramifications across the crypto industry. coindeck

 

Noteworthy

 

European Exchanges to Develop Consolidated Tape for Equities, ETFs. The joint venture includes Nasdaq, Euronext, Deutsche Boerse and SIX Swiss. yahoo

EY expects the European ETF market to grow to in excess of USD3.1 trillion AUM by 2030 quoting ESG progress, increasing the adoption rate of online channels as a distribution method, and the development of the active ETF space as being the drivers. etfexpress

Amundi’s CEO Valerie Baudson has come out against a ban on inducements in Europe despite acknowledging it would be good news for the firm’s ETF business. etfstream

Well, of course she is going to say this because she has to. Firms like Amundi, where there is both a mutual fund business and an ETF business are in a trickly spot.

On the one side, inducements suit their mutual fund business whereas on the other hand, a ban would suit their ETF business.

 

Additional reads

 

ESMA to closely monitor the rise of European ETF neobrokers, according to the British newspaper Financial Times. FT

Let’s hope they don’t mess this up in the name of “serving the interests of the end investor”.

 

From Behind the Desk

 

In case anyone missed it last week, Alex Vynokur, Founder and CEO, BetaShares, has gone to tremendous effort to support his fellow countrymen in Ukraine and has set up a charity.

The work Alex has doing and the time he has dedicated to this has been incredible so, I would encourage you all to take a look at his work and do what you can to support a fellow ETFer: theukraineappeal.org