Nine new exchange-traded funds were listed on London Stock Exchange in September, bringing the number of ETF listings for the year to 100. Nine other exchange-traded products have been listed on the exchange in 2016.
The nine ETFs launched in London during September include products from iShares, First Trust & Zyfin, PowerShares, Source, Deutsche Asset Management and UBS.
During the month, iShares listed four global thematic ETFs. The funds look to capture the opportunities created by evolving long-term structural and demographic trends. These four global ‘megatrends’ include aging populations, healthcare innovation, robotics and automation, and digitalisation.
First Trust and ZyFin partnered to bring out Europe’s first physical Indian Equity ETF, the LAM ZYFIN MSCI INDIA UCITS ETF. The ETF tracks the MSCI India 10/40 Index, measuring the performance of the large and mid-cap segments of the Indian equity market, covering roughly 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalisation in India.
PowerShares launched the PowerShares US High Yield Fallen Angels UCITS ETF, providing exposure to USD-denominated ‘Fallen Angel’ bonds of issuers domiciled in North America. Fallen angels are bonds that were originally issued with investment grade status but have since been downgraded to junk. The ETF attempts to take advantage of a well-documented pricing anomaly whereby these bonds are often oversold prior to their downgrade.
Source unveiled the Source RBIS Equal Risk Equity US UCITS ETF, a smart beta ETF providing large-cap US equity exposure with lower volatility than traditional market cap-weighted strategies.
Deutsche Asset Management launched the db x-trackers II iBoxx USD Liquid Asia Ex-Japan Corporate Bond UCITS ETF, the world’s first ETF delivering dedicated exposure to the Asia ex-Japan US dollar corporate bond market.
UBS launched the UBS Barclays US Liquid Corporates interest rate hedged UCITS ETF, providing access to a diversified basket of US corporate bonds while simultaneously hedging against interest rate risk.
In terms of trading activity, total on-exchange value traded for ETFs and other ETPs during the month was £29.4bn, up by 43%compared to September 2015. Year-to-date, total on-exchange value traded for ETFs and other ETPs is £275.3bn, up by 40% compared to the same period last year.
There are now 897 ETFs (available as 1,354 lines through multi-currency offerings) and 402 other ETPs (available as 461 lines) listed on the London market.