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• ProShares launches four “UltraShort” foreign ETFs
• Claymore seeks exemptions for three actively managed funds
• First Trust plans ETF covering community banks

NEW LISTINGS

ProShares Launches Another Quartet Of Funds

On June 18, ProShares rapidly expanded its lineup of inverse international exchange-traded funds with the launch of four “UltraShort” funds offering -200% exposure to their underlying benchmarks.

The new ETFs include the following:

• ProShares UltraShort MSCI Europe (NYSE Arca: EPV)
• ProShares UltraShort MSCI Pacific ex-Japan (NYSE Arca: JPX)
• ProShares UltraShort MSCI Brazil (NYSE Arca: BZQ)
• ProShares UltraShort MSCI Mexico Investable Market (NYSE Arca: SMK)

Each will follow their corresponding indexes, taking 2X short positions in their respective benchmarks. They’ll expand the number of UltraShort ETFs that ProShares has on the market tracking MSCI indexes to a total of eight. The other previous launches cover developed international markets through the broad EAFE index, emerging markets as a whole, Japan and China.

The new ETFs will each charge an expense ratio of 0.95%.

Read the original IndexUniverse article here.

Read the filing here.

Claymore Files For Three Active Funds

Claymore Advisors has filed an exemptive relief request with the Securities & Exchange Commission to launch a trio of actively managed ETFs, including one that will be managed by Art Laffer’s economics consulting firm, Laffer Associates.

The Claymore filing covers three actively managed ETFs:

• Claymore/S&P Commodity Trends Strategy ETF
• Claymore Active National Municipal ETF
• Claymore Laffer MacroEconomic Global Equity ETF

The Active National Municipal ETF, not previously reported, will seek to outperform the Barclays Capital 7-Year Municipal Bond Index through a traditional bottom-up investment strategy.

The Laffer MacroEconomic Global Equity ETF, the third fund, will be an “ETF of ETFs,” holding a portfolio of single-country ETFs that represent the “the most undervalued equity markets around the world,” according to the fund’s subadviser, Laffer Associates. Laffer Associates is the economics consulting firm founded by famous supply-side economist Art Laffer.

According to the filing, Laffer Associates uses “proprietary multi-factor modeling” based on quantitative analysis of multiple features of an individual country’s economy. Based on that, it selects countries with the most favorable characteristics and further analyzes them for “special situations such as trade disputes, military conflicts, political instability and supply/demand interruptions.”

The top 12-16 countries based on this analysis will be held in the ETF, which will be rebalanced regularly.

There is no guarantee that the SEC will grant the required exemptive relief, or that Claymore will launch these ETFs even if it does.

Read the original IndexUniverse article here.

Read the filing here.

First Trust Files For Community Bank ETF

First Trust has filed to launch an ETF tracking the community banking industry, according to new papers filed at the SEC.

The proposed ETF would track the NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index, which captures small- and mid-cap community banks listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

The index has a variety of exclusion criteria designed to maintain a pure-play focus on the community banking sector. Companies entering the index, for example, cannot be among the 50 largest banks or thrifts based on asset size; cannot focus on international servicing; cannot specialize in credit cards; etc. In other words, they are supposed to be local banks.

The new ETF will charge 0.60 % in annual expenses.

Read the original IndexUniverse article here.

Read the filing here.

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