Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has agreed to buy ETF Securities’ European ETF platform known as Canvas. The news comes two days after WisdomTree announced a deal to buy ETF Securities’ European ETP business. Graham Tuckwell, founder and chairman of ETF Securities, commented, “Combining the ETF expertise and capabilities of Canvas with the scale and reach of LGIM should be transformative for existing and new customers.”

WisdomTree has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the European exchange-traded product operations of London-based ETF Securities, comprising 307 ETPs, including commodity, currency, and short & leveraged exposures, with over $17.6 billion of AUM combined. Graham Tuckwell, founder and chairman of ETF Securities, commented: “I believe this combination creates a uniquely positioned firm which will flourish in the years ahead, continuing to deliver huge value for customers and stakeholders.”

Robo-advisor Scalable Capital has reached €500 million in assets 22 months after launching in Germany and 16 months after launching in the UK. The firm uses proprietary risk management algorithms to manage portfolios built using ETFs for clients.

Weekly flows analysis from ETF Securities shows that oil ETFs saw outflows of $73 million on the back of profit taking during the week commencing 30 October. Oil has risen steadily in price since the summer and the outflows come as Brent crude closed at a two-year high of $64.27 on 6 November.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has reported that total on-exchange value traded for ETFs in October 2017 was £27 billion through 290k trades, an increase of 3% compared to October 2016. The average order book trade size for ETFs was £38k during the month.

Bloomberg has announced the 2018 target weights and composition of the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), a well-known benchmark for the performance of the broad commodities universe. The rebalancing, effective January 2018, is set to affect several large ETFs that track the flagship index.

London-based ETF Securities has reported that its range of disruptive technology ETFs, consisting of the firm’s cybersecurity and robotics & automation ETFs, has passed $1 billion in assets under management. Frank Spiteri, head of distribution, ETF Securities, said: “The success of the Future Present ETF range highlights how investors’ needs continue to evolve, creating opportunities for new and smarter solutions that fit within strategic long-term thematic allocations.”

Infrastructure is an essential part of a functioning society. It encompasses the physical structures and services that connect the different parts of a society and enable its efficient functioning. In this article, we take a look at how investors can use thematic ETFs to gain exposure to infrastructure.

The results from Germany’s election are in and Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition remains the largest force in parliament. But with the two largest parties recording their worst result since the 1940s and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party enjoying considerable support, the political direction of Germany has an added air of unpredictability. How has all this affected markets and, in turn, what’s been the impact on ETFs linked to German equities and bonds?

The proposition that robotics and automation will fundamentally change the way we work and live is no longer up for debate. The question, then, is how can investors best take advantage of this megatrend? Thematic ETFs, such as the iShares Automation and Robotics UCITS ETF (LON: RBOT), provide an effective answer.