I have been talking to exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors for more than a decade, and when I mention the numerous benefits of the structure, I often hear “I don’t need intraday liquidity, so that does not benefit me.” Well, I am here to tell you that whether or not you utilize the intraday liquidity, it benefits all ETF investors.
The exchange listing, or “ET” part of “ETF,” is what allows this product to have intraday liquidity. But the exchange listing also gives ETFs benefits over other product wrappers, such as mutual funds, that are not listed. The exchange listing gives ETF investors an extra avenue of liquidity, tax efficiency and the possibility to trade at less than cost.
Here’s a question we are frequently asked: “What happens to ETF liquidity in times of stress—in particular, fixed income ETFs?” My answer is that the ETF wrapper is not magical; it is transparent and will reflect the stress that is going on in the underlying asset class. However, because the ETF is exchange listed, it provides an extra avenue of liquidity in addition to the liquidity provided by the underlying securities in the ETF. This proves extremely useful during times of stress. For example, in the fall of 2015, Third Avenue’s now fully liquidated mutual fund, Third Avenue Focused Credit, was invested in extremely distressed debt.
The high-yield bond market seized, and the fund had to halt redemptions. While this occurred, many high-yield bond ETFs continued to trade without error. Although spreads may have widened to reflect the underlying stress, these ETFs went on to trade many multiples of their average daily volumes for many months. Investors who needed high-yield exposure flocked to a transparent meeting place that was functioning. The exchange gives the underlying asset class another venue to trade on without having to transact in the underlying securities. The exchange listing not only augments the liquidity profile of an ETF, but it also provides a liquidity buffer in times of crisis.
A second key benefit of being exchange listed is that ETFs generally are more tax efficient than their mutual fund counterparts. This is due to two factors: the ability to create and redeem (grow and shrink in size) through the in-kind mechanism, and the ability to trade on exchange. The in-kind mechanism gives portfolio managers more control over their tax lots. The ability to trade on exchange allows shares of the ETF to be passed back and forth without necessarily creating turnover in the underlying portfolio. In fact, an Investment Company Institute report notes that less than 10% of the ETF average daily volume (ADV) translates into creation/redemptions, or trading within the fund.1 Think about it; 90 % of the ADV of an ETF is changing hands without the underlying portfolio trading. So, relative to nonlisted wrappers, on average, the ETF fund trades 90% less, which reduces the opportunity to create capital gains. The extra avenue to trade on exchange provides another buffer from constant trading within the fund.
A third important benefit of being exchange listed is that an ETF has the potential to trade at less than cost. That means an investor may be able to buy or sell an ETF for less than if an investor were to buy or sell the underlying components on his or her own. Because of the fact that, on average, only 10% of the ETFADV results in trading within the fund, the 90% that doesn’t require portfolio trading creates cost savings in execution to the market maker. These cost savings are then passed on to the end investor in the form of tighter spreads. In fact, Virtu (then called KCG) published a research report saying that 90% of U.S. equity ETFs with U.S. equity underlying securities trade tighter than the cost to buy or sell that collection of securities.2 A mutual fund investor typically will not have that opportunity. The ability to congregate on exchange provides the end investor with execution cost savings a majority of the time.
The exchange listing of an ETF provides a place away from the portfolio to trade exposure of that investment strategy. This extra place to trade adds another dimension to that investment strategy. Even if you’re a long-term holder of ETF and don’t need or want to trade intraday and think ETFs aren’t for you, think again. The fact that the intraday liquidity exists and these products are exchange traded provides the end investor with enhanced liquidity, tax efficiency and a high possibility to execute that strategy less than it would cost to buy the strategy yourself.
Anita Rausch, Head of Capital Markets
Important Risks Related to this Article
Neither WisdomTree Investments, Inc., nor its affiliates, nor Foreside Fund Services, LLC, or its affiliates provide tax advice. All references to tax matters or information provided in this material are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered tax advice and cannot be used for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Investors seeking tax advice should consult an independent tax advisor.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, is not affiliated with the entities mentioned.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETP, den största kryptoindexprodukten i Europa med över 500 miljoner USD i AUM, har nominerats till ETF Stream Awards 2024, i kategorin ”Digital Assets ETP Of The Year”!
Hashdex är glada över att se sitt engagemang för att tillhandahålla innovativ, reglerad tillgång till kryptotillgångsklassen erkänd. Detta erkännande belyser deras ledarskap när det gäller att utveckla kryptoinvesteringslösningar.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETP, den största kryptoindexprodukten i Europa med över 500 miljoner USD i AUM, har nominerats till ETF Stream Awards 2024, i kategorin ”Digital Assets ETP Of The Year”!
Detta erkännande belyser Hashdex engagemang för att tillhandahålla innovativa, robusta produkter som förenklar tillgången till kryptotillgångarnas värld. HDX1 erbjuder diversifierad exponering och tydlighet på en komplex marknad, vilket förkroppsligar Hashdex uppdrag att föra kryptons framtid in i nutiden av investeringar.
Prisutdelningen äger rum den 28 november i London, där Hashdex kommer att ansluta sig till branschens främsta ETF-spelare.
For years, India has been ramping up to contend with China as the region’s top technology leader. Pandemic-era supply chain issues hastened its successes in luring foreign tech firms. Now, equity investment flows are following suit. Dina Ting, Head of Global Index Portfolio Management at Franklin Templeton, highlights a few factors behind how the subcontinent is benefiting from rotational flows.
As China braces for renewed friction over President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats, investor flows may be following similar currents as those of regional supply chain shifts—that is to say, diversifying from China and toward opportunities in markets such as India and Japan.
After the People’s Bank of China revealed the most aggressive stimulus package it’s rolled out since the COVID-19 pandemic, China stock markets saw a short-lived rally at the end of September. A lack of detailed measures targeting consumption seems to have disappointed investors and led the bullish sentiment to deflate.
Adding to the country’s economic woes are societal changes like falling birthrates and a rapidly ageing population. Estimates by China’s National Health Commission suggest the country’s elderly population will grow to over 400 million by about 2035. To better cope with this crisis, China’s statutory retirement age will be extended, starting in January 2025, for the first time since the 1950s.
India investors, meanwhile, are finding the subcontinent—which has already overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation—appealing for its relative immunity to global risks, given its domestic-driven economy. Its younger labor force has also attracted a market pivot to this prime alternative to China manufacturing. For the 12-month period prior to China’s September 2024 stimulus announcement, US-listed India equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) garnered US$7.5 billion in flows—a sharp contrast to the US$6 billion in outflows experienced by China ETFs over the same period.1
Judging by India’s impressive initial public offering (IPO) environment, businesses there are feeling the optimism. The country’s 258 IPOs accounted for 30% of the global total by number by the end of September and 12% by the amount of money raised, in an economy that makes up just over 3% of global GDP.2
And investors in India are taking note. Aided by the improving digitalization of finance and increased internet access, India’s middle class is also an expanding retail investor class. By one measure, nationwide stock trading accounts nearly tripled from 2019 to 2023 to roughly 140 million.3
In dollar terms, total returns for Indian stocks have risen by 93% over the past five years, compared with about a 24% rise overall for emerging markets and drop of 5% for China stocks over the same period.
Many investors seeking to better diversify emerging market exposure or layer in targeted broad country allocation can tap single-country exchange-traded strategies.
Emerging markets in the Asia region are not the only beneficiaries of a potential US-China trade war. Earlier this year, investors were already driving up flows into Japan ETFs. Market watchers consider Japanese stocks to be indirect beneficiaries of Trump’s reflationary economic policy—which may keep interest rates high, thereby boosting the dollar and weakening the yen to the advantage of Japanese exporters.
The MSCI Japan Index is up nearly 21% in US dollar terms in the one-year period ending October 31, 2024. Consumer discretionary, financials and industrials holdings led gains during this time.
An element of uncertainty around the policies of a second Trump term, however, are still causing jitters around Asia, especially given the president-elect’s transactional approach to international relations.
Fortunately, Japan is seeing a renaissance in its semiconductor industry for which Tokyo is investing heavily (more than US$25 billion through 2025) and has established strong multilateral trade partnerships.
Japan has already elevated its role in global supply chain reorganization in recent years, and seeks to take advantage of its clout in joint free trade initiatives, such as the US’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to strengthen its regional supply-chain leadership.
iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term EUR Corporate UCITSETF EUR (Dist) (30IG ETF) med ISIN IE000LX17BP9, strävar efter att spåra Bloomberg MSCI December 2030 Maturity EUR Corporate ESG Screened index. Bloomberg MSCI December 2030 Maturity EUR Corporate ESG Screened-index följer företagsobligationer i EUR. Indexet speglar inte ett konstant löptidsintervall (som är fallet med de flesta andra obligationsindex). Istället ingår endast obligationer som förfaller under det angivna året (här: 2030) i indexet. Indexet består av ESG (environmental, social and governance) screenade företagsobligationer. Betyg: Investment Grade. Löptid: december 2030 (Denna ETF kommer att stängas efteråt).
Den börshandlade fondens TER (total cost ratio) uppgår till 0,12 % p.a. iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term EUR Corporate UCITSETF EUR (Dist) är den enda ETF som följer Bloomberg MSCI December 2030 Maturity EUR Corporate ESG Screened index. ETFen replikerar det underliggande indexets prestanda genom samplingsteknik (köper ett urval av de mest relevanta indexbeståndsdelarna). Ränteintäkterna (kupongerna) i ETFen delas ut till investerarna (kvartalsvis).
Denna ETF lanserades den 9 maj 2024 och har sin hemvist i Irland.
Varför 30IG?
Exponering mot företagsobligationer i euro denominerade i investeringsklass, skattepliktiga, fast ränta och som förfaller mellan 01/01/30 och 02/12/30
Det är en investeringsperiod i fonden att andelsägare den 02/12/30 kommer att få sina andelar inlösta utan ytterligare meddelande eller aktieägargodkännande den 30/03/12
Indexet tillämpar skärmar som exkluderar emittenter som är involverade i följande affärsområden/aktiviteter: tobak, kärnvapen, civila skjutvapen, kontroversiella vapen, termisk kolbrytning, generering av termisk kolkraft, oljesand, konventionella vapen och vapensystem/komponenter/ stödsystem/tjänster.
Investeringsmål
Fonden strävar efter att uppnå avkastning på din investering, genom en kombination av kapitaltillväxt och inkomst på fondens tillgångar, vilket återspeglar avkastningen från Bloomberg MSCI December 2030 Maturity EUR Corporate ESG Screened Index, fondens jämförelseindex.
Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet, Aktieinvest och Avanza.