Daily ETF Watch: Hedged Int’l Fund Planned

WisdomTree Investments, the sponsor behind the ETF market’s two most successful currency-hedged equities strategies, plans to expand its lineup of currency-hedged ETFs by adding  a global ex-U.S. fund that will target companies in both the emerging and developing markets.

The WisdomTree Global Ex-U.S. Hedged Dividend Fund will track an index that covers the 1,000 largest stocks in the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Dividend Index and weights them by their annual dividends, subject to a 25 percent cap on all individual country and sector weights,  according the regulatory filing detailing the fund.

WisdomTree already has 13 currency-hedged ETFs listed in the U.S., the largest of which is the $15 billion WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ | B-57), followed by the $14 billion WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ | B-51). However, unlike those two funds, the global ex-U.S. fund’s prospectus does not mention the inclusion of a screen targeting export-oriented stocks.

Nonetheless, this fund could be a good fit for the investor who is confident in the strength of the U.S. dollar.

Active Utilities Fund
ETF Issuer Solutions (ETFis) has filed for an actively managed ETF that will focus on the utilities sector. The Reaves Utilities ETF will be subadvised by Reaves Asset Management.

According to the prospectus, the fund will invest in utility companies that it thinks have the best potential for income growth and capital appreciation via a value-focused, bottom-up investment process. The investment methodology targets companies with conservative capital structures, strong balance sheets, earnings or dividend growth and below-average volatility, among other characteristics.

Reaves Asset Management, also known as W.H. Reaves & Co. Inc., is an investment advisor that invests in utility, energy and telecommunications companies and has $3 billion in assets under management.

The fund would be the first of its kind, as there are no other active ETFs that focus exclusively on the utility sector.

The filing did not include a ticker or listing exchange; however, the prospectus did indicate an expected expense ratio of 0.95 percent.