USA
Natixis lists short term investment grade bond fund
Natixis Investment Management, a Boston-based affiliate of French investment bank Natixis, is listing a new actively managed short duration bond ETF in the US, the Natixis Loomis Sayles Short Duration Income ETF (LSST).
LSST will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds with durations between one and three years. Of those, the fund will mostly target investment grade bonds, from either government or corporate issuers. The fund will also invest up to 15% in bonds rated below investment grade (“junk bonds”) and be open to investing in emerging market debts, so long as they are US dollar denominated.
The fund’s adviser and manager, Loomis Sayles, an arm of Natixis, will keep an eye on the risk and return profiles of the debts it buys into, the prospectus says.
ALPS lists thematic beta ETF targeting new tech
ALPS ETF Trust is listing a thematic beta ETF which targets cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing, 3D printing and fintech, the ALPS Disruptive Technologies ETF (DTEC).
DTEC will track an index designed to identify companies using disruptive tech in twelve thematic areas: healthcare innovation, internet of things, clean energy, smart grid, cloud computing, data and analytics, education, fintech, robotics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, 3D printing, and mobile payments.
It then defines disruptive companies as those “using disruptive technologies are those that are entering traditional markets with new digital forms of production and distribution, are likely to disrupt an existing market and value network, displace established market-leading firms, products and alliances and increasingly gain market share,” the prospectus says.
DTEC can invest in both US-based and foreign companies, including emerging markets companies. In order to be eligible for inclusion, a company’s stock has to meet certain size and liquidity requirements, while deriving an unspecified minimum percentage of its revenue from one of the themes stated above. Companies selected in the index are then equally weighted and rebalanced quarterly.
Taiwan
Cathay lists bond ETFs with self-explanatory names
Taipei-based Cathay Securities is listing two new ETFs that set a new high wter mark for self-explanatory fund names. They are:
00725B invests in corporate bonds issued outside of China that have 10 years or greater durations. It targets those with BBB ratings or higher and with a 4.5% annual return. To lower risk, 00725B has a 20% sector cap, meaning no more than 20% of the fund’s assets can be invested in companies within a certain sector.
00727B invests in junk bonds issued outside of China that have short and mid durations of one to five years. Because this type of fund is on the riskier end of the yield curve, each debt issuer is capped at 2%.