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FlexShares Offers Global REIT ETF

Fund will be self-indexed using fundamental methodology.

Features and News

FlexShares To Launch Global REIT ETF

The income-generating fund is smack in the middle of a number of ETF industry trends.

Features and News

ALPS Lists 4 Momentum-Focused ETFs

ALPS doubles its footprint as an ETF sponsor with the launch of four momentum funds.

 

Features and News

ALPS Plans 4 ETFs Using Goldman Indexes

ALPS, the Denver-based exchange-traded fund distributor that also sponsors four ETFs, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to market four additional ETFs that use momentum-focused indexes that span the globe and target separate asset classes.

Together, the four funds appear to represent the latest attempt by an ETF firm to provide access to different portions of the investment universe using enhanced beta indexation, in this case a securities screen that isolated momentum.

The ETFs and their respective strategies are:

  • ALPS/GS Momentum Builder Growth Markets Index ETF—the fund’s index is comprised of shares of ETFs whose underlying indexes track the equity markets of the following emerging market countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico, South Korea, Indonesia, and Turkey. The fund will also own shares of ETFs whose underlying indexes track U.S. fixed income markets.
  • ALPS/GS Momentum Builder Multi-Asset Index ETF—the fund’s index is comprised of shares of ETFs whose underlying indexes track U.S., international, developed and emerging equity markets, commodity markets, real estate markets and U.S. fixed income markets. Debt holdings include U.S. Treasurys and investment-grade, high-yield, international and emerging market bonds.
  • ALPS/GS Momentum Builder Asia ex-Japan Index ETF—the fund’s index is comprised of shares of ETFs whose underlying indexes track the equity markets of the following countries in Asia: India, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Australia, as well as shares of ETFs whose underlying indexes track U.S. fixed income markets.
  • ALPS/GS Risk-Adjusted Return US Large Cap Index ETF—the fund’s index is designed to reflect the performance of a hypothetical portfolio of U.S. stocks that are anticipated to have the highest risk-adjusted returns based on a methodology Goldman.

The Goldman methodology for the latter large-cap ETF selects a target of 50 stocks for inclusion in the index from a subset of U.S. equity securities within the Russell 1000 Index that meet the minimum analysts coverage, liquidity and market capitalization requirements set forth below. The Index is rebalanced semiannually.

The first three funds each use a Goldman index methodology seeks to provide exposure to price momentum of these equity and U.S. fixed income markets by reflecting the combination of underlying ETF weightings that would have provided the highest six-month historical return, subject to the certain constraints on maximum and minimum weights and volatility controls.

The three indexes are rebalanced monthly, but may also be rebalanced as frequently as daily if the daily volatility control is triggered.

In its paperwork, ALPS didn’t include the ticker symbols or the proposed annual expense ratios of the four ETFs.

The four existing ETFs the company already sponsors are:

  • Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEArca: AMLP)
  • ALPS Equal Weight ETF (NYSEArca: EQL)
  • ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (NYSEArca: SDOG)
  • Cohen  & Steers Global Realty Majors ETF (NYSEArca: GRI)

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ALPS Plans High-Volatility ETF

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ALPS To Launch Commodity Equity ETFs

Company increases its ETF offerings from one to six ETFs.

Journal Of Indexes

Around The World Of ETFs

PowerShares Launches First ETFs Of ETFs

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).

ETF Report

 ALPS Debuts With Global Real Estate ETF

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.