Morningstar Enhances Research, Expands Indexes
Morningstar is launching a new credit research module as part of its Morningstar Analyst Research Center, a Web-based research portal for financial advisors and other investment professionals.
The company also is creating two new indexes to track energy master limited partnerships (MLPs).
The new credit reporting research module provides access to credit ratings on approximately 700 global corporate credit issuers. The module includes credit reports that provide overviews of companies' creditworthiness, including forward-looking risk measures derived from Morningstar analysts' five-year cash-flow projections.
It also includes Highlighted Issuer reports, which evaluate outstanding bonds from a single corporate issuer and provide detailed analysis on specific bond issues that Morningstar's credit research team finds attractive and others they would avoid. The module also includes recent ratings changes Morningstar has made.
Morningstar also has created the Morningstar MLP Composite Index and the Morningstar MLP Focus Index, which track energy master limited partnerships.
The composite index targets the top 97% of all publicly traded energy MLPs by market capitalization. The Focus Index includes 20 high-quality MLPs that are trading at the most favorable risk-adjusted prices.
Energy MLPs engage in the transportation, treating, processing, refining, storage, marketing, exploration, and production of natural resources. "In 2009, there were only about five diversified MLP investments, now there are closer to 20," says Jason Stevens, head of the company's MLP research.
Rydex Offers New Equal Weight ETFs
Rydex is launching six new Equal Weight ETFs, which weight investment holdings equally across either index constituents or market segments, or both.
The ETF lineup at Rydex, with the exception of CurrencyShares, is known as RydexShares and includes nine sector ETFs. The addition of the six new ETFs brings Rydex's total number of equal-weight ETFs to 16 and total number of exchange-traded products to 34, with assets of more than $6 billion.
Fiserv Offers New Technology Tools
Fiserv Inc. is launching new tools to support the cost-basis reporting regulation included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
The law requires that beginning January 1, financial intermediaries provide to investors and the IRS the adjusted cost basis for covered securities. Fiserv's cost-basis tool allows daily importing and calculation of data to provide adjusted cost-basis information. Additional information can be found at www.fiserv.com.
ProShares Launches First Volatility ETFs
ProShares is offering the first Volatility ETFs: VIX Short-Term Futures and VIX Mid-Term Futures. The funds provide exposure to equity-market volatility by trying to match the performance of their respective VIX futures indexes, before fees and expenses. Additional information is available at http://proshares.com.
WisdomTree Offers Managed Futures ETF
WisdomTree is launching the WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund. The fund is an actively managed ETF that employs a rules-based strategy designed to provide exposure to commodities and currencies through a long/short quantitative approach.
The new fund will try to provide diversification through an uncorrelated asset mix and its long/short strategy, profits in rising and falling markets, performance in inflationary and deflationary environments, and exposure to commodities.
Van Eck Creates New Fund
Van Eck Global is launching a new index-based, open-end mutual fund that is designed to reduce the potential negative effects of contango, which can significantly reduce the performance of commodity investments over time.
The new Van Eck Constant Maturity Commodity Index Fund tracks the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index. Contango occurs when the price of a futures contract exceeds the expected spot price at the contract expiration date. The new fund is diversified over 26 commodities and five maturities and is rebalanced monthly. For more information, visit at www.vaneck.com.
New Natixis Funds
Natixis Global Associates is launching two mutual funds managed by Harris Associates, advisor to Oakmark Funds.
Natixis Oakmark International Fund will focus on non-U.S. equity markets and the Natixis Oakmark Global Fund will look for compelling investment opportunities worldwide.