ETF Watch: 6 Funds Launch Today

AccuShares launched two new ETFs today on the Nasdaq. The AccuShares S&P GSCI Crude Oil Excess Return Up Shares (OILU) and the AccuShares S&P GSCI Crude Oil Excess Return Down Shares (OILD) are designed to provide exposure to the spot price of crude oil, with OILU providing long exposure and OILD providing inverse exposure.

The funds each come with an expense ratio of 0.29%.

The two ETFs hold only cash—not derivatives or futures—with the cash shifting between the two products based on the underlying index’s movements. AccuShares rolled out the AccuShares Spot CBOE VIX Fund Up Class Shares (VXUP | F) and the AccuShares Spot CBOE VIX Down Class Shares (VXDN) last year using a similar methodology tied to the CBOE VIX.

Deutsche Adds To Multifactor Family   
Deutsche Asset Management has added another fund to its lineup of “Comprehensive Factor” ETFs. The Deutsche X-trackers Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor ETF (DESC), like the other funds in the Comprehensive Factor family, targets the value, momentum, quality, low-volatility and size factors. It derives its components from the small-cap Russell 2000 and comes with an expense ratio of 0.30%.

The fund launched on the NYSE Arca exchange.

Deutsche already had three other ETFs with similar methodologies covering the U.S. large-cap space, emerging markets and developed markets outside the U.S.

SSgA Launches Tech Funds

State Street Global Advisors, which has the largest tech ETF in the world in its lineup in the form of the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK | A-89), rolled out two more funds targeting specific slices of the U.S. tech space on the NYSE Arca exchange. The SPDR S&P Technology Hardware ETF (XTH) and the SPDR S&P Internet ETF (XWEB) both come with expense ratios of 0.35%.

XTH tracks an equal-weighted index that covers companies involved in technology hardware, storage and peripherals as well as electronic equipment and components. Companies must meet liquidity and size requirements to be included. In mid-June, the index had 43 components; it is required to have at least 22 components.

XWEB tracks a very similar index in terms of construction, but the focus is on internet retail stocks and internet software and services firms. Its underlying included 60 stocks as of mid-June. 

RBC Debuts "Trend Allocator" ETN

Royal Bank of Canada rolled out an ETN that will allocate between the S&P 500 and the Federal Funds rate based on average of the preceding 200-day closing values. The RBC S&P 500 Trend Allocator PR Index ETN (TALL) comes with an investor fee of 0.85%.