ETF Times: August 23 - 27

Last week's top-performing ETPs suggest increasing nervousness in the markets as investors reach for 'safer' hard assets

Morningstar ETF Analysts 31 August, 2010 | 4:19PM
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Eurex, the electronic derivatives exchange, plans to launch options on six Lyxor ETFs on September 20. The emerging market ETFs that the options are based on track the DJ Russia Titans, DJ Turkey Titans, Hang Seng China Enterprise, Hang Seng, CECE Eastern Europe and MSCI Emerging Markets indices. Currently the exchange offers options on 13 ETFs and futures contracts on three ETFs. Investors can use the options for hedging purposes, as well as to speculate.

New Listings
Credit Suisse (CS) launched 13 ETFs on Zurich’s SIX Swiss Exchange. The new funds focus mainly on emerging market equity indices, but also include Australia. Unlike CS's existing ETFs, which use physical replication, the new funds are swap-based. And in a positive step towards greater transparency for investors, CS will publish the composition of the 'substitute basket' daily on its website. Generally, this information has only been published twice annually or has been available on demand from providers. Each ETF tracks an MSCI index, including individual countries like China, Korea, Taiwan, India, Russia, Brazil, Chile, South Africa and Mexico, and broader indices such as EM Asia, and EM EMEA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa). Other than the China CSI 300 fund (the first of its kind in Europe), which has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.50%, each fund charges 0.65% annually. The funds are also registered for sale in the UK and Ireland, and CS plans to list them on additional European exchanges.

Best and Worst Performers for the week of August 23 - 27
The list of top-performing ETPs last week was dominated by precious metals, including silver and palladium. This is potentially a sign of increasing nervousness in the markets as investors reach for 'safer' hard assets.

The sputtering global economy appears to be the main driver behind the list of worst-performing ETFs for the week. Natural gas prices fell yet again as US demand remains weak, and some export-driven emerging markets such as Mexico and South Korea also made the list of poor performers.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Morningstar ETF Analysts  research hundreds of ETFs available to European investors. The Morningstar Rating for ETFs is based on a risk-adjusted performance measure.

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