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June 13, 2015 at 07:14 AM
New products and changes introduced over the last week include a corporate-spinoff ETF from Van Eck Global; a green bond from Morgan Stanley; an ETF from SSGA; and two ETFs from Direxion.
Also, Morningstar gave a five-star rating to one of 361 Capital’s funds; Franklin Templeton added a retirement target fund; Nationwide added an index option to its fixed indexed annuities; and MassMutual added an employee benefits guidance tool.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) Van Eck Global Launches ETF
Van Eck Global has announced the launch of the Market Vectors Global Spin-Off ETF (SPUN), an ETF that seeks to benefit from the long-term potential of corporate spinoffs to unlock shareholder value.
SPUN seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Horizon Kinetics Global Spin-Off Index. As of May 31, the index contained 87 components, with 69% allocated to U.S. companies, 21% to Western European companies, and 10% to Asian companies.
2) Morgan Stanley Adds Green Bond
Morgan Stanley has announced its inaugural $500 million green bond. Funds connected with the offering will be used to further initiatives dedicated to external sustainable investments focused on energy efficiency and on renewable energy projects involving wind energy.
The green bond has received a comprehensive review from an independent certification expert in renewables and energy efficiency, and an independent accountant will report with respect to stated disbursements. Project updates and impact-focused reporting for this issuance will be made available on a dedicated website.
3) SSGA Launches ETF
State Street Global Advisors has announced the addition of the SPDR EURO STOXX 50 Currency Hedged ETF (HFEZ), which provides investors with an opportunity to benefit from the growth potential of large-cap eurozone stocks while seeking to minimize exposure to fluctuations in the euro-to-U.S.-dollar exchange rate.
HFEZ seeks to track the performance of the EURO STOXX 50 Hedged USD Index. The index was developed for investors seeking exposure to the EURO STOXX 50 Index, which includes 50 liquid eurozone stocks from 12 countries, while looking to reduce the risk of currency fluctuations.
4) Direxion Adds Two ETFs
Direxion has announced the addition of two leveraged ETFs, the Daily MSCI Europe Currency Hedged Bull 2X Shares (HEGE) and the Direxion Daily MSCI Japan Currency Hedged Bull 2X Shares (HEGJ).
HEGE seeks to achieve 200% of the daily performance of the MSCI Europe U.S. Dollar Hedged Index. The index represents a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI Europe Index, to the U.S. dollar, the “home” currency for the hedged index.
