• Page 1: New ETF listings and new ETFs in registration
• Page 2: ETF industry statistics?including weekly performance update
• Page 3: The complete list of ETFs (and ETNs) in registration

Note: Want to receive an email notice as soon as ETF Watch is posted? Just click here to subscribe.

NEW LISTINGS

WisdomTree Launches First-Ever India ETF

WisdomTree won the race to launch the first exchange-traded fund to cover the Indian market, with the listing last Friday of the WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (NYSE Arca: EPI). The new ETF had a tremendous start in its first day of trading, with roughly 1 million shares changing hands.

While most of the WisdomTree products are dividend weighted, EPI is weighted by earnings. The underlying index was constructed with India's foreign capital restrictions in mind: The methodology includes an investable weighting factor that reflects both available float and the government's foreign investment limits.

The WisdomTree India Earnings Index includes approximately 150 stocks. It has a dividend yield of 1.24% and a PE ratio of 13.99. Among its top five components are Reliance Industries Ltd. (13.35%), Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (6.27%), Infosys Technologies Ltd. (5.78%), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (3.93%) and ICICI Bank Ltd. (3.32%). Energy is the largest sector in the index at 24.88%.

EPI charges an annual expense ratio of 0.88%.

You can read the prospectus here.

Full coverage from IndexUniverse.com is available here.

Victoria Bay Launches Gasoline Fund

The United States Gasoline Fund (AMEX: UGA) began trading February 26 with a mandate making it the first ETF to directly track gas prices. UGA is marketed by Victoria Bay Asset Management.

The fund tracks near-month futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rolling the contracts monthly. That leaves it exposed to the forces of backwardation and contango. Like all commodity funds, UGA also will be buoyed by interest income. The annual expense ratio of UGA is expected to wind up at 0.69%.

You can read the prospectus here.

Full coverage from IndexUniverse.com is available here.

ELEMENTS Launches Currency ETNs

On February 21, ELEMENTS, the ETN consortium organized by Merrill Lynch, rolled out five new currency ETNs underwritten by Deutsche Bank that offer exposure to foreign currencies and their home-market interest rates. The new funds are:

• ELEMENTS Euro (ERE)
• ELEMENTS Australian Dollar (ADE)
• ELEMENTS British Pound (EGB)
• ELEMENTS Canadian Dollar (CUD)
• ELEMENTS Swiss Franc (SZE)

Each note is linked to the performance of the named foreign currency against the U.S. dollar. If the euro rises against the dollar, for instance, the ELEMENTS Euro ETN (ERE) will rise as well. In addition, each note makes semiannual dividend payments based on local interest rates … a fact that distinguishes them from competing currency ETNs from Barclays’ iPath family. The iPath notes incorporate the interest payments into the value of the note as a kind of "virtual interest," which is only realized when the noteholder sells.

Full coverage from IndexUniverse.com is available here.

Deutsche Bank Launches Leveraged, Inverse Commodity ETNs

Deutsche Bank recently launched the first inverse, leveraged and inverse-leveraged commodity exchange-traded products in the U.S. The new ETNs will trade on the NYSE Arca and are:

• DB Gold Double Long ETN (NYSE Arca: DGP)
• DB Gold Double Short ETN (NYSE Arca: DZZ)
• DB Gold Short ETN (NYSE Arca: DGZ)

The notes are designed to provide +200%, -200% and -100% of the monthly return of an investment in gold futures. Like all commodity futures products, the notes incorporate the income futures investors would gain from investing their collateral cash in Treasuries. That will add approximately 5% of positive return to each index ... including the short and double short indexes. Note that the Treasuries return will not be leveraged in the double up or double down funds; only the return of the futures contract will be leveraged.

The fact that the notes are tied to the monthly return of the index is noteworthy?the popular ProShares and Rydex leveraged equity ETFs are linked to the daily return of their benchmarks. That is not a minor difference: Because of the impact of compounding, doubling the monthly return as opposed to the daily return should allow these notes (in most circumstances) to stick closer to the long-term price trends of the underlying index.

The new notes charge 0.75% in expenses.

Full coverage from IndexUniverse.com is available here.

RevenueShares

A trio of ETFs launched last week that take a novel approach to the popular S&P indexes. The new funds use the same stocks as the S&P 500, S&P 600 and S&P 400, but rather than weighting them by market cap, they weight them by revenues. Call it another variant of fundamentally weighted indexes.

The RevenueShares Large Cap Fund (NYSE: RWL) seeks to take the best of the S&P 500. Meanwhile, the RevenueShares Mid Cap Fund (NYSE: RWK) is designed to complement the S&P 400. Also, the RevenueShares Small Cap Fund (NYSE: RWJ) replicates the holdings of the S&P 600.

From 1991-2007, the S&P 500 returned an average annualized 11.41%. For the same period, RevenueShares' backtested data shows the S&P 500 weighted by revenue would've returned 14.19%.

The funds charge 0.49%.

Full coverage is available here.

Van Eck Adds Another Muni

Van Eck Global has added again to its lineup of municipal bond ETFs. It recently launched the Market Vectors–Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Short Municipal ETF (AMEX: SMB), which tracks the Lehman Brothers AMT-Free Short Continuous Municipal Index. The Index covers investment-grade municipal bonds with a nominal maturity of 1-6 years.

With three offerings launched and several more in registration, Van Eck could end up with the most comprehensive family of muni bond ETFs, even though it was only the most recent ETF provider to enter that particular market.

SMB charges a net expense ratio of 0.16%.

You can read the prospectus here.

NEW FILINGS

There were no new ETF filings in the past week.

ETF Data Watch

Note: These numbers refer only to U.S. ETFs and ETNs. Data as of February 22, 2008, from the American Stock Exchange.

Pure Numbers
Total number of ETFs listed in the U.S.: 660
Total number of ETNs listed in the U.S.: 36
Total ETF assets: $565 billion
Total number of ETFs and ETNs in registration: 450

ETFs Filed – By Fund Company

There are currently 450 ETFs and ETNs with prospectuses filed at the SEC.
You can click on any fund and link directly to the prospectus.