The Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (EMQQ US) has topped $1 billion in assets under management.

ETFs providing exposure to Argentinian equities have plummeted in value following the surprise results of the country’s presidential primary elections on 11 August 2019. The two pure-play ETFs tracking Argentina – the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT US) and iShares MSCI Argentina and Global Exposure ETF (AGT US) – both slumped nearly 25%. Sean Newman, a senior strategist at Invesco, says the reason why the markets reacted so badly to the results is because “the candidacy of Kirchner is perceived as a return of populism — often referred to as ‘Kichnerism/Peronism’” which is faulted with creating much of the economic disarray inherited by incumbent President Macri when he took office.”

Sixteen new ETFs/ETPs or additional ETF share classes were listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2019. ETF providers introducing new products included Franklin Templeton, Invesco, Ossiam, Vanguard, VanEck, and Krane Fund Advisors.

Franklin Templeton has launched its first purely passive ETFs in Europe, a suite of four single-country funds providing exposure to the equity markets of Brazil, China, South Korea, and India. The funds are linked to capped, market capitalisation-weighted indices from FTSE Russell and come with total expense ratios of between 0.09% and 0.19%. Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Sales EMEA, Franklin Templeton, said, “We are delighted to introduce these four new emerging markets country passive ETFs at the lowest fees, to European investors.”

Alpha Architect has launched a new ETF in the US that offers a unique approach to investing in emerging market equities. The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM US) selects and weights countries according to the freedoms enjoyed by their citizens.

Investors are on the cusp of the largest shift in the risk profile of emerging market benchmarks since these indexes were first launched more than 30 years ago. By the end of November, MSCI would have quadrupled China A-Shares exposure and added Saudi Arabian stocks to its flagship MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Steven A. Schoenfeld, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, BlueStar Indexes, examines how these changes are expected to affect concentration risk and why investors may wish to consider alternative index weighting approaches.

By Lyxor Asset Management’s ETF research department.

Nothing seems to be making developed market bond yields rise at the moment, leaving investors with a serious headache – where can they find the income they need? One answer might be in emerging market bonds. Even though they’ve rallied with most other risky assets this year, there is reason to believe they could rise further from here.

KraneShares has launched a new ETF – the KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF (KEMX US) – on NYSE Arca, providing exposure to stocks from emerging markets excluding China. The fund complements KraneShares’ China-focused core and thematic funds, enabling investors to build tailored emerging market portfolios without duplicating their country exposure.

By Chanchal Samadder, Head of Equity ETFs, and Philippe Baché, Fixed Income ETF Engineering & Product Development at Lyxor Asset Management.

After a largely lacklustre 2018, sentiment on the emerging markets has improved since the beginning of the year. Capital flows have recovered as a result. So what’s next?

By Nitesh Shah, Director, Research at WisdomTree.

El Niño refers to a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean that has a global impact on weather patterns. The name, which loosely translates to ‘Christ child’, traces its origin back to Peruvian fisherman in the 1600s, who observed that fish yields would often decline around Christmas time as seawater temperatures rose.