Thirteen new ETFs and ten new ETCs listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in March, bringing the total number of ETFs and ETPs listed on the exchange to 890 and 451 respectively.
London Stock Exchange had 23 new ETP listings during March
WisdomTree cross-listed ten inverse and leveraged ETPs on LSE, covering a broad mix of equity, fixed income and commodity benchmarks. The firm also launched the accumulating and distributing share classes of the WisdomTree India Quality UCITS ETF, offering smart beta exposure to Indian equities with a focus on quality companies, and the WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF – USD Hedged, providing exposure to Japanese equity markets while neutralising exposure to fluctuations of the Japanese yen relative to the US dollar.
iShares expanded its range of Europe listed sustainable ETFs with the launch of the iShares MSCI Japan SRI UCITS ETF, offering exposure to Japanese companies with high ESG ratings. The issuer also added four ETFs to their range of US equity sector funds. The new ETFs will target S&P 500 constituents in the consumer staples, industrials, materials and utility sectors.
Lyxor launched the Lyxor Green Bond UCITS ETF, the world’s first ETF to offer exposure to the investment grade green bond market. Europe’s third largest ETF provider also listed the Lyxor US TIPS GBP Monthly Hedged UCITS ETF, providing currency-hedged access to US Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, and the Lyxor UK£ 10Y Inflation Expectations UCITS ETF, which targets the spread between traditional bond yields and those of inflation-linked bonds.
Source launched the Source KBW NASDAQ Fintech UCITS ETF, Europe’s first fintech ETF, tracking 50 fintech companies listed in the US.
First Trust launched the First Trust US Small Cap Core AlphaDEX UCITS ETF, providing exposure to small cap US firms while employing a multifactor smart beta weighting methodology.
Total on-exchange value traded for ETFs and other ETPs in March 2017 was £31.1 billion, up by 24% compared to March 2016. Total on-exchange value traded for ETFs and other ETPs year-to-date was £84.5bn, up 13% compared to 2016.
LSE also launched the Request For Quote ‘RFQ’ functionality for ETFs and other ETPs, in a bid to support the execution of larger size trades on-exchange. The newly launched functionality offers clearing which removes counterparty risk and opens up ETP trading to a wider universe of trading participants. Turnover of €286.3 million was traded through RFQ on Borsa Italiana, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, on 11 April 2017. The largest single trade was €124m, demonstrating the capability of RFQ to facilitate larger size trades.
Commenting on the figures, Cécile Nagel, Head of LSE Exchange Traded Products and LSE Markets Global Product Development, said: “We have seen a very strong start to the year in 2017, with a number of new products listed and the launch of our innovative RFQ functionality. London Stock Exchange is a leading ETF trading venue in Europe and working with market participants, we will continue to build on this position by encouraging new issuers and products to market and developing on-exchange liquidity.”