Top Portfolio Products: NASDAQ OMX Adds Two ETF Listings

New products and changes introduced over the last week include an ETF from Calamos and ETNs from Barclays listed by NASDAQ OMX, the adoption of three Cushing funds by MainStay Investments, the introduction of a practice acquisition group by Pensionmark Retirement Group and a fixed target annuity from Guardian.

Also, Franklin Templeton introduced preferred pricing for Canadian investors, HuaAn Asset Management Co. Ltd. launched an ETF in China based on the DAX index and Envestnet completed the acquisition of Klein Decisions Inc.

Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:

1) NASDAQ OMX Lists Calamos ETF, Barclays ETNs

NASDAQ OMX announced that it has listed the Calamos Focused Growth ETF (CFGE) and Barclays Inverse U.S. Treasury Composite ETNs (TAPR).

CFGE features a portfolio consisting of stocks in which Calamos has the greatest confidence of sustained growth. The portfolio selection process stresses company fundamentals, including a global presence, strong revenue and earnings growth, solid returns on invested capital and lower debt-to-capital levels. The fund also utilizes active management, blending investment themes with fundamental research.

The TAPR ETNs are designed to help investors position for rising U.S. dollar Treasury yields by tracking the Barclays Inverse U.S. Treasury Futures Composite Index, which tracks the sum of the returns of periodically rebalanced synthetic short positions in equal face values of each of the 2-year, 5-year, 10-year, long-bond and ultra-long U.S. Treasury futures contracts.

2) MainStay Adopts Three Cushing Funds

MainStay Investments, a New York Life company, has announced that it has finalized the adoption of three Cushing funds.

The MainStay Cushing MLP Premier Fund (CSHAX) invests primarily in MLPs focused on the midstream energy sector, which generally includes businesses engaged in the transportation and storage of natural resources.

The MainStay Cushing Royalty Energy Income Fund (CURAX) invests primarily in U.S. and Canadian royalty trusts and exploration and production MLPs.

Both CSHAX and CURAX seek current income and capital appreciation utilizing proprietary research to seek to identify investments with the most attractive distribution yields and distribution growth prospects.

The MainStay Cushing Renaissance Advantage Fund (CRZAX) invests thematically in energy, industrial, manufacturing and transportation companies positioned to benefit from increasing U.S. production of crude oil and natural gas and lower relative domestic energy costs.

(One of Cushing’s SMA strategies, the MLP Alpha Total Return Strategy, won Investment Advisor/Envestnet PMC’s SMA Manager of the Year award in the Specialty Category this year. Read the extended profile of Cushing’s Alpha Total Return Strategy, focusing on Cushing’s president, Libby Toudouze.)

3) Guardian Adds Fixed Target Annuity