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Page 1 of 3
- Page 1: New ETF listings
- Page 2: ETF industry statistics including weekly performance update
- Page 3: The complete list of ETFs (and ETNs) in registration
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NEW LISTINGS
Barclays Rolls Out Carbon and Commodity ETNs
On June 26, Barclays launched 11 new exchange-traded notes through its iPaths lineup, including a much-anticipated fund tracking carbon emissions.
Linked to the Barclays Capital Global Carbon Index Total Return, the iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSE Arca: GRN) is the first ETN designed to provide investors with exposure to the global price of carbon. With global warming gaining increasing attention and being addressed with new urgency, indexes are being created to capture the market for trading carbon in world markets.
Carbon emission credits are traded by companies who get tax breaks and other incentives for lowering pollutants into the air. These standards are designed to set limits on the amount of a pollutant that can be released into the atmosphere and allocate credits among companies creating emissions. Those that do not use all their emissions credits can sell them to companies that need them.
By some estimates, the global carbon market is worth more than $50 billion a year.
The 10 other ETNs introduced track subindexes of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return:
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Tin Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: JJT)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Sugar Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: SGG)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Softs Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: JJS)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Precious Metals Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: JJP)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Platinum ETN Total Return Sub-Index (NYSE Arca: PG)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Lead ETN Total Return Sub-Index (NYSE Arca: LD)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Cotton Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: BAL)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Coffee Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: JO)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Cocoa Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: NIB)
- iPath Dow Jones-AIG Aluminum Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE Arca: JJU)
Each ETN charges an expense ratio of 0.75%
Read the prospectus for the ETNs tracking subindexes of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return here.
Read the prospectus for GRN here.
Vanguard Goes Global
Vanguard has added a fully global ETF to its lineup of funds: On June 26, the index fund provider launched the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund, which comes in Investor, Institutional and - of course - ETF shares.
There aren't a lot of truly "global" ETFs out there - ones that offer broad coverage both of developed and emerging markets. The new Vanguard fund tracks the FTSE All-World Index, which weights the United States at about 41%, and the rest of the world - both developed and emerging markets - at 59% of the index. In all, the index covers about 2,900 large- and mid-cap stocks domiciled in 47 different countries.
The ETF shares, which trade on the NYSE Arca exchange under the symbol VT, charge an expense ratio of 0.25%.
Read the prospectus for VT here.
PowerShares’ Second Wind
Less than two weeks after the first wind energy exchange-traded fund hit the market, a more concentrated and at least initially more expensive alternative became available from PowerShares on July 1.
The PowerShares NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index (NASDAQ: PWND) charges an expense ratio of 0.75%.
The underlying index was developed by alternative energy researcher Clean Edge Inc., and the NASDAQ's indexing arm contains 31 companies from 12 different countries. Pure-play companies represent 90% of the index’s total weight.
Clean Edge uses a quantitative-based stock-picking system to determine what goes into the fund. The NASDAQ then sets and maintains the rules-based modified market-cap-sized weighted index. To be considered a pure-play, a company must produce at least 1,000 megawatts of energy - about the same amount as a conventional power plant- or generate $1 billion annually from wind-related power.
Read the prospectus for PWND here.
MacroShares Are Back–With One Small Change
The MacroShares Oil Up and Oil Down funds have been resurrected … sort of.
On July 1, MacroMarkets LLC launched the MacroShares $100 Oil Up (UOY) and the MacroShares $100 Oil Down (DOY) funds on the American Stock Exchange. Like the recently closed MacroShares, these new ones also track the price of oil, but with one major difference.
The whole MacroShares concept can be described as a simple teeter-totter. The funds don’t actually hold the underlying assets, but rather, Treasuries. The money invested in the two funds flows between them according to how the underlying benchmark is doing. When the underlying benchmark goes up, the teeter-totter tilts toward the “up” fund and a proportionate amount of assets flows into the up fund. When the benchmark goes down, the opposite happens. With these new funds, assets will transfer between the funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis as oil prices change.
For the last pair of MacroShares, which also tracked the price of oil, the “fulcrum” for the teeter-totter was set at $60/barrel for oil. The fulcrum for the new shares though, as their name implies, is set at $100/barrel, and if the price of light sweet crude remains above $185 for three consecutive business days, the funds will terminate.
UOY and DOY both charge expense ratios of 0.95%.
You can read the prospectus here.
NEW FILINGS
PowerShares Files For Active Real Estate ETF…
Invesco PowerShares has filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an actively managed real estate fund.
It will invest mainly in real estate stocks, using the FTSE NAREIT Equity REITs Index as its universe. The index contained 110 components as of the end of January and had a total market capitalization of roughly $277 billion.
The fund would be managed in-house by PowerShares’ parent company.
PowerShares already has four actively managed ETFs that are currently trading.
Read the prospectus for the PowerShares Active U.S. Real Estate Fund here.
…And Global Sector ETFs
PowerShares is also looking to launch a clutch of global sector ETFs, according to a separate filing.
The funds would track indexes from NASDAQ OMX covering the agriculture, biotech, coal, gold and precious metals, steel and transportation sectors. The indexes have uniform methodologies and inclusion requirements: Eligible index components must have a minimum float-adjusted market capitalization of $500 million and a three-month average daily dollar trading volume of at least $1 million. Each index is weighted using a modified market capitalization scheme.
The proposed funds include the following:
- PowerShares Global Agriculture Portfolio
- PowerShares Global Biotech Portfolio
- PowerShares Global Coal Portfolio
- PowerShares Global Gold and Precious Metals Portfolio
- PowerShares Global Steel Portfolio
- PowerShares Global Transportation Portfolio
Read the prospectus for the funds here.
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