New products and changes introduced over the last week include NASDAQ OMX's listing of two ETFs; TIAA-CREF added both an emerging market debt fund and two target date funds; ARK Investment Management launched two ETFs; Henderson Global Investors launched an international equity fund; and ProShares launched a managed futures strategy.
Also, Addenda Capital launched a global fixed income strategy; Aequitas Capital launched a provider network; iCapital Network launched an online marketplace; Source added Interactive Data's ETF services; and Abacus Group launched a client portal.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) Ivy Funds Launches Mid Cap Income Opportunities Fund
Ivy Funds has announced the launch of the Ivy Mid Cap Income Opportunities Fund (IVOAX), which is managed by Kimberly Scott and co-manager Nathan Brown.
IVOAX seeks to achieve its objective of providing total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of income-producing common stocks of mid-capitalization companies that the management team believes demonstrate favorable prospects for total return, focusing on companies the managers believe offer the opportunity to provide higher-than-average dividend yields relative to the overall mid-cap space.
2) ProShares Adds Managed Futures Strategy ETF
ProShares has announced the launch of the ProShares Managed Futures Strategy ETF (FUTS), which follows the S&P Strategic Futures Index, designed to capitalize on upward and downward trends in the futures markets.
Managed futures strategies identify price trends in the futures markets and take long or short positions across asset classes such as commodities, currencies and fixed income. This flexibility means they can potentially capture value from both upward and downward price movements in these markets. Managed futures portfolios have historically provided risk-adjusted returns comparable to those of stocks with low correlation to the stock and bond markets.
3) TIAA-CREF Adds Funds
TIAA-CREF has announced the addition of the TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Debt Fund (TEDLX, TEDTX, TEDPX, TEDNX) and the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle 2060 and Lifecycle Index 2060 Funds (TLXNX, TLXPX, TLXRX, TVIIX, TVIPX, TVITX).
TEDLX is an actively managed mutual fund that provides blended exposure to a range of emerging markets fixed-income securities, including U.S. dollar and local-currency-denominated sovereign and corporate bonds. It will use the JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index as its primary benchmark. Katherine Renfrew is lead portfolio manager and Anupam Damani is comanager.
TLXNX and TVIIX will allocate 90% of assets to equity and 10% to fixed income at the outset and will gradually move to a target allocation of approximately 50% equity and 50% fixed income by 2060, reaching their final target allocation of approximately 40% equity and 60% fixed income between 2067 and 2070.
4) NASDAQ OMX Lists Two ETFs
NASDAQ OMX announced that it has listed the Arrow DWA Tactical ETF (DWAT) from Arrow Funds and the Compass EMP Developed 500 Enhanced Volatility Weighted Index ETF (CIZ) from Compass EMP.
DWAT is an actively managed exchange traded fund that is based on the Dorsey Wright relative strength (RS) global macro model. The fund seeks to systematically identify and provide exposure to leading global market strategies across U.S. equities, international equities, fixed income, commodities and currencies.
CIZ seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the CEMP International 500 Long/Cash Volatility Weighted Index.
5) ARK Investment Management Adds Two ETFs
ARK Investment Management has announced the launch of two actively managed thematic equity ETFs: the ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (ARKQ) and the ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW).
ARKQ seeks to invest in companies revolutionizing the industrial world, such as Tesla, Space X and Google, which are pioneering changes in the way people travel, from daily commutes to international space exploration. Fund holdings are based upon ARK's original research, covering space exploration, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, robotics, alternative energy sources, energy storage, infrastructure, and innovative materials.
ARKW seeks to invest in companies transforming every sector of the economy thanks to Internet-enabled innovation. Among ARK's topics of original research are big data, cloud computing, cryptocurrencies, devices/gateways, digital education, health care, the Internet of things, the smart grid, and the sharing economy.
