ETFs

ALPS last week unveiled its exchange-traded fund joint venture with Goldman Sachs in the form of four new ETFs.

So what are three elements that are going to shape the mutual fund landscape in 2013? The answer lies in regulation, exchange-traded funds and operational outsourcing, according to a report from Deloitte.

The combined assets of the nation’s exchange-traded funds rose in November by $26.06 billion, or 2.1%, to $1.295 trillion.in November, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

"We are likely to end 2012 with a record level of assets'' in exchange-traded funds and other exchange-traded products, said Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner at ETFGI, the London consulting firm that compiles the numbers. This should also reflect "a record level of net new assets invested into the products during the year.''

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management said it plans to close 13 ETFs, which represent less than 1% of Invesco PowerShares’ total assets.

Fiscal cliff? What fiscal cliff?

Brown Brothers Harriman launched a suite of ETFs designed to help clients access tools and reports through a single umbrella platform dubbed ETF Connect.

The exchange-traded funds space has had its fair share of successful launches and flameouts this year.

Fidelity Investments, the firm that lost its position as the biggest U.S. funds provider after ignoring exchange-traded products for years, is seeking to open an actively run ETF lineup starting with a corporate bond fund.

Exchange-traded funds saw inflows of $15.6 billion in November to bring year-to-date inflows to $154.0 billion, putting them on track to match or exceed 2008’s record-setting inflows, according to data from Morningstar.

In a remarkably short period, the playing field for the lowest-cost ETFs has changed dramatically.

Global exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded product assets reached an all-time high of $1.9 trillion at the end of November 2012, according to figures from ETFGI’s monthly global ETF and ETP industry insights.

BlackRock’s latest November 2012 ETP Landscape Report paints a rosy picture for exchange-traded products heading into the New Year.

Investors withdrew money last month from Vanguard Group Inc.’s emerging-markets exchange-traded fund, the industry’s largest, after the firm said it would replace the fund’s index.

Looks like the "ETF fee war" is waging on.

The largest U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking municipal bonds touched the highest price since it began five years ago as investors speculated that tax rates will increase to help curb the federal deficit.

San Francisco's Charles Schwab Investment Management emerges as yet another firm seeking an alternative to traditional preservation methods, filing for an actively managed ETF that specifically seeks capital preservation and daily liquidity.

Exchange-traded funds hit a speed bump last month after coasting through much of the year in the black.

Has the bloom come off the inverse and the leveraged exchange-traded fund? "I think it really has," said Michael Rawson, ETF analyst for Morningstar.

Investors will continue to pour money into funds, especially into target date funds and ETFs, according to a report on mutual funds from Tiburon Strategic Advisors.