New products and changes introduced over the last week include a eurozone ETF from First Trust; a DAX Germany ETF from Recon Capital; two ETFs from Global X; and an international small-cap fund from Causeway Capital Management.
Also, the Phoenix Companies partnered with Credit Suisse on a tactical mult-iasset index; Aegon UK has launched its Whole of Life protection policy; AssetMark acquired Aris Corporation of America; and ABMM Financial launched to provide support to advisors on retirement planning.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) First Trust Launches Eurozone AlphaDEX ETF
First Trust has announced the launch of the First Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX ETF (FEUZ), which provides a way to gain exposure to the potential opportunity in eurozone equities without having to choose individual companies.
FEUZ seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before the fund's fees and expenses, of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Eurozone Index. By providing additional features such as tax efficiency, exchange-traded liquidity and transparency, the fund offers an alternative strategy to active management when seeking alpha.
2) Global X Adds Two ETFs
Global X Funds has announced the addition of two ETFs based on indexes developed by J.P. Morgan Corporate and Investment Bank: the Global X-JPMorgan Efficiente Index ETF (EFFE) and the Global X-JPMorgan US Sector Rotator Index ETF (SCTO).
EFFE aims to provide investors with risk-adjusted returns. It rebalances monthly, shifting exposures across five asset classes and thirteen subclasses, while targeting an annual realized volatility of 10%. The strategy is designed as an alternative investment, seeking to generate low-volatility returns across a variety of market conditions.
SCTO seeks to provide investors with the ability to participate in market upside while limiting downside exposure. On a monthly basis, it will select up to five U.S.-sector ETFs that have demonstrated positive recent performance from a pool of 10 possible sectors. The fund may shift up to 100% of its exposure to 1–3 year U.S. treasuries to defend against declining or volatile markets.
3) Recon Capital Adds DAX Germany ETF
Recon Capital has announced the launch of the Recon Capital DAX Germany ETF (DAX).
The DAX Index tracks the blue chip segment of the German equities market, and contains the shares of the 30 largest and most liquid companies admitted to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB). The exchange-listed portion of the German equity market is concentrated around just a few highly capitalized global players. The largest 30 German stocks cover about 80% of the capitalization of the entire German prime standard.
4) Causeway Capital Management Adds International Small-Cap Fund
Causeway Capital Management has announced the launch of the Causeway International Small Cap Fund (CIISX), which is managed by Arjun Jayaraman, head of quantitative research for Causeway; MacDuff Kuhnert, director of quantitative research; and Joe Gubler, quantitative portfolio manager.
