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June 25, 2012 at 04:59 AM
New products introduced over the last week include two new SPDR ETFs announced by SSgA and an ecological ETF launched by Huntington Asset Advisors.
In addition, Market Vectors ETFs announced a new Australian unit; Partners Group closed its Global Real Estate 2011 program; CAIS added private equity to its platform; and Nationwide Funds Group announced the elimination of redemption fees.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) SPDR BofA Merrill Bond ETFs Launched
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the asset management business of State Street Corp., announced Tuesday the beginning of trading on the SPDR BofA Merrill Lynch Crossover Corporate Bond ETF (XOVR) and the SPDR BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corporate Bond ETF (EMCD).
XOVR, with an expense ratio of 0.30%, seeks to track the performance of the BofA Merrill Lynch US Diversified Crossover Corporate Index, which is designed to measure the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated BBB and BB corporate debt publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market. Qualifying securities must be rated BBB1 through BB3 inclusive (based on an average rating of Moody’s Investors Service Inc., Standard & Poor’s Inc. and Fitch, Inc.) have a fixed-income coupon schedule, have at least one year remaining to final maturity, and a minimum amount of outstanding of $250 million or more of issuance.
For EMCD, with an expense ratio of 0.50%, individual securities of qualifying issuers must be denominated in U.S. dollars, be senior or secured debt, have at least one year remaining to final maturity, a fixed coupon and $500 million or more in outstanding face value.
2) Market Vectors Announces Investment Pact with Australian Index Investments
Market Vectors ETFs announced Tuesday that its investment advisor, Van Eck Associates Corp., entered into an investment agreement with Australian Index Investments (AII) on June 7. The resulting company is a majority subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corp. and will be renamed Market Vectors Australia Pty. Ltd. Market Vectors Australia will market and distribute ETFs, including six existing AII ETFs, to the Australian marketplace. The company currently oversees approximately AUD $30 million in investor assets.
The current AII staff will be retained and led by CEO Annmaree Varelas, who has served as CEO for two years. She also has extensive experience as manager of funds, warrants and structured products at the Australian Securities Exchange and was instrumental in establishing the AQUA Market for ETFs in Australia.
3) Huntington Asset Advisors Launches Ecological Strategy ETF
