Reports and investment research on ETFs and other fund vehicles, including mutual funds, UCITs and white papers on liquid alternatives. Research on liquid alts has received a lot of attention, as institutional investors and FOHFs show increasing interest in the many different types of liquid alternative mutual funds. For hedge funds, alternative UCITs provide another opportunity to expand... their investor universe. Research on future trends in UCITs has been popular, as have papers on the use of sub-advisers for liquid alternatives. The most popular ETF research includes papers on smart beta ETFs, best practices for ETF trading, Asian ETFs and bond ETFs. Different ETF articles will appeal to different members. For asset allocators seeking to make short-term allocations to an asset class, research providing a cost comparison of futures and ETFs has received many downloads. For DC Plan Sponsors, the question "should ETFs be an investment option in DC plans?" has generated a lot of interest, whereas for Canadian plan sponsors a paper questioning the use of mutual funds in Canadian pensions has proved popular.
This report adds institutional accounts to the mutual funds analyzed in the S&P Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) U.S. Scorecards. It also examines the impact of fees.
A robust and active trading ecosystem benefits asset owners and investment managers by fostering transparency, market efficiency, and investor confidence. This paper documents, for the first time, the extent and nature of that ecosystem for indices produced by S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). The results offer a…
Institutions are continuously seeking ways to improve their portfolio's risk return profile. This paper compares and contrasts those vehicles and demonstrates that certain institutions that are comfortable with the implications of investing in those vehicles should carefully consider them.
This 42-page report provides a detailed look into the U.S. asset management industry. It focuses on a variety of issues, including: (i) regulation; (ii) public and private investment funds; (iii) the industry's risk exposures; (iv) current industry trends and policy issues, and more.
EDHEC-Risk Institute conducted its 12th survey of European investment professionals about the usage and perceptions of ETFs, smart beta and factor investing, as part of the Amundi research chair at EDHEC-Risk Institute on “ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta Investment Strategies”. The aim of this study is to analyse current…
Bond exchange traded funds (ETFs) are transforming how investors—from individuals to institutions—can access fixed income. Global bond ETF assets topped $1 trillion in June 2019, a growth milestone that highlights how far they have come in their first 17 years. The next leg of growth will be driven by investors finding novel…
This quarter as part of exploring ‘Factors in ETFs’ Tom Idzal sat down with ETF.com to talk about how factor analysis can help investors compare equity ETFs, and how it could be a critical component for ETF issuers looking for differentiation and growth.
Funds and ETFs that track an ESG index without verifying each investment can find themselves in hot water if the index doesn’t screen the securities properly, as happened recently with two ETFs that track FTSE Russell ESG indices.
This analysis extends the first paper of this series, published in May 2017, "Conversations With the Buy-Side: Futures and ETFs". The more recent paper studies the selection process and perceived costs and benefits of replicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index returns via equity index futures versus…
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are commonly regarded as an efficient, low-cost alternative to actively managed mutual funds, yet their perceived superiority is largely anecdotal. We evaluate the performance of a comprehensive, survivorship bias-free sample of US equity ETFs following the same approach that has been commonly…
We found that integrating an equity multi-factor or environmental, social and governance (ESG) allocation improved a hypothetical plan participant’s funded status, based on Monte Carlo simulations.
Investors who want to harvest the benefits of AI without the risk of betting on a single company, even one with an alluring name, have a slew of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to choose from that provide diversified exposure to AI, automation, and robotics companies. But if investors want to go all in on this so-called fourth…
A new class of semi-transparent, active ETFs is prompting investors to think of ETFs in a whole new way. State Street's ETF specialists discuss how they’re responding to some of the most common questions they’ve received.
Conventional wisdom has it that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are an attractive, low-cost alternative to actively managed mutual funds. But is this really true? New Robeco research shows the average ETF investor is, in fact, not necessarily better off.
China’s asset management market is now entering a new stage as the market opens up for foreign players and as fund management begins to substitute ‘shadow banking asset’ based wealth management products. One interesting trend we have observed is the growing popularity of passive investment in China. More players are now…
Join the following session LIVE from the London Stock Exchange and listen to the presentations without leaving your office. What do investors need to understand as they start to buy into fixed income ETFs?
