5 Very Successful ETF Launches Of 2015

By | January 6, 2016

Scalper1 News

The year 2015 turned out to be a momentous one for the ETF industry with assets comfortably crossing the $2 trillion mark. About 287 ETFs have been launched so far this year (with nine more days to go) compared with about 180 ETF initiations in 2014, 150 in 2013 and 168 rollouts in 2012. All these have tallied to 1,839 ETFs so far. Not only this, a considerable number of ETFs are in the pipeline, pointing to growing investor interest for exchange-traded products in this market. The credit goes mainly to a wide range of innovative and fresh-themed products in the space, which hold investors’ attention despite the peaks and troughs of the market. Among the new products, active funds, smart-beta ETFs, high yield options and hedged international products were appreciated by investors. Below are five ETFs launched in 2015 that scooped up assets within a short time span on the market, and look to be big winners for their issuers down the road: SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (NYSEARCA: TOTL ) Making its debut in late February in association with bond master Jeffrey Gundlach’s DoubleLine Capital, this SPDR actively managed bond ETF has amassed about $1.73 billion, which is a tall order for any player in the ETF industry (read: 2 New ETFs with Big Potential ). Retail investors seem to revere the name of the fixed income veteran Jeff Gundlach whose team manages the ETF. TOTL looks to maximize total return, while emphasizing income by investing in a global portfolio of fixed income securities of various maturities and ratings, though only 10% of the portfolio goes to the international arena. The fund puts about 58% of assets in mortgage-backed securities followed by about 9% invested in treasuries and 8.4% in emerging markets. The fund charges 55 bps in fees and is down 2.5% since inception (as of December 22, 2015). SPDR S&P North American Natural Resources ETF (NYSEARCA: NANR ) This ETF has scooped up about $662.6 million in assets within just a few days of its launch this month itself. The fund looks to track the performance of publicly traded large- and mid-cap US and Canadian companies in the natural resources and commodities businesses including energy, materials or agriculture. This 59-stock fund charges 35 bps in fees. Though the fund is revolving around some presently beaten-down areas of the investing world, investors might have been placing their money to cash in on the undervalued status over the long run. iShares Exponential Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: XT ) This ETF has attracted almost $640.5 million in assets since its inception in March. It looks to track the Morningstar Exponential Technologies Index that considers developed and emerging market companies which create or use exponential technologies, per the prospectus . Exponential technologies replace outdated technologies, foray into underpenetrated markets and have the ability to influence the economy (read: Why Is This New ETF Growing So Fast? ). Big data and analytics, nanotechnology, medicine and neuroscience, networks and computer systems are some the areas under exponential technologies that the fund uses. The product charges 47 basis points in annual expenses, which is quite rational given its niche theme. However, the fund is down 4.2% so far this year (as of December 22, 2015). Goldman Sachs Active-Beta Emerging Market ETF (NYSEARCA: GEM ) The fund looks to deliver exposure to emerging market equities and picks stocks based on four attributes of performance, namely good value, strong momentum, high quality and low volatility. Given the potential turmoil in the emerging market bloc due to the Fed lift-off, political issues in some countries and slumping commodities, the active beta approach drew investors’ attention. The 434-stock fund has amassed about $570 million so far and charges 45 bps in fees. The fund has heavy focus on the financial sector with about 25.6% followed by Information Technology (18.7%), Consumer Staples (14.1%) and Consumer Discretionary (10.8%). SPDR Russell 1000 Momentum Focus ETF (NYSEARCA: ONEO ) This new ETF has amassed about $335.1 million in assets in less than a month. The fund looks to track the performance of a segment of large-capitalization U.S. equity securities demonstrating a combination of core factors with a focus factor comprising high momentum characteristics. This 918-stock ETF is heavy on Consumer Discretionary (20.05%) followed by Financial Services (16.84%) and Producer Durables (16.37%). The fund charges 20 bps in fees. Link to the original article on Zacks.com Scalper1 News

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