ALPS ETF Channel

PowerShares once again broke new ground in the exchange-traded fund industry with the launch of the first ETFs of ETFs, the PowerShares Autonomic Global Asset Portfolios. The three funds were launched May 20 and track indexes of ETFs designed by Boston-based advisory firm New Frontier Advisors (NFA).

ALPS Holdings Inc.—known mainly as a service provider to the investment management industry—rolled out its first ETF, the Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors ETF (AMEX: GRI), in early May. GRI has an underlying index that covers 75 real estate companies from developed markets in North America, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.