S-Network Global Indexes has announced the launch of the S-Network Sector Dividend Dogs Index (SDOGX). The SDOGX is a portfolio of 50 higher-yielding stocks derived from the S&P 500. The SDOGX selects the five stocks in each of the ten GICS sectors that make up the S&P 500 which offer the highest dividend yields as of the last trading day of November. The index has been licensed to the pending ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF.

STOXX has announced the introduction of the STOXX Europe ESG Leaders 50, EURO STOXX ESG Leaders 50, STOXX Asia/Pacific ESG Leaders 50 and STOXX North America ESG Leaders 50 indices. The index universe for these new blue-chip indices is the STOXX Global ESG Leaders Index. Index constituents are selected based on the free-float market capitalisation, and are weighted according to their overall ESG rating, i.e. the average of their Environmental, Social and Governance score.

UBS has announced the launch of two new ETRACS ETNs designed to deliver high monthly income and leveraged exposure to blue-chip dividend indices. The two ETNs, the ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Dow Jones Select Dividend Index ETN (DVYL) and the ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged S&P Dividend ETN (SDYL), are linked to indices tracking high-dividend-paying companies in the US which have been screened to ensure that only companies with sustainable dividend policies are included.

The success of ETF managed portfolios is emerging as a major theme in the US, as a new breed of investment advisers specialising in providing outsourced ETF portfolio management solutions win an ever larger share of financial-adviser-directed assets. That’s one of the key findings of new research released by iShares, focused on the emergence of ‘ETF Investment Strategists’.

Amundi, the company behind the Amundi ETF product range, has formed a strategic partnership with ‘smart beta’ specialists TOBAM. The partnership includes a distribution agreement under which Amundi, with its wide-reaching international distribution capabilities, will make TOBAM’s “Anti-Benchmark” strategies available to its clients. These strategies are designed to outperform traditional market-cap-weighted indices with lower risk by providing maximum diversification within an investment universe.

SPDR ETFs, the ETF platform of investment giant State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has listed four new physically-backed fixed income ETFs on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Three of the funds provide access to the UK gilt market, while the fourth provides access to investment-grade sterling-denominated corporate bonds. All four of the funds have highly competitive expense ratios, track key fixed income benchmarks and are ideally suited as core portfolio building blocks.

Vanguard’s initial five ETFs have been admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The listing formally marks Vanguard’s debut in the UK ETF market. The five funds are the Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF (VUKE), the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VUSA), the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VFEM), the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (VWRL), and the Vanguard UK Government Bond ETF (VGOV).

ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative ETFs, has announced the launch of ProShares USD Covered Bond ETF (COBO). This new ETF is the only corporate bond fund – mutual fund or ETF – in the US with substantially all of its assets rated AAA. COBO invests in covered bonds, a type of collateralised corporate debt typically issued by non-US financial institutions. Covered bonds are a popular investment outside the US but previously have not broadly accessible in the US.

Richard Bernstein Advisors (RBA), a US-based investment adviser founded by Richard Bernstein, a former chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch, has announced the launch of a series of ETF model strategies known as “SMRT” (Sector Model RoTation). The portfolios will combine RBA’s top-down approach and proprietary earnings and valuation analyses with First Trust Advisors’ AlphaDEX methodology.

S&P Indices has announced the launch of the dividend-focused S&P BRIC High Yield Index as well as a risk control version of the Index. The S&P BRIC High Yield Index provides exposure to 40 high dividend yielding companies from Brazil, Russia, India, and China (together known as the BRIC countries), while meeting stability, tradability, diversification and dividend sustainability requirements.