Investors go on the defence

Defense or defence? Take the bi-lingual approach and recognise that investors stepped up in either trading defensively during the early August period of volatility or trying to market time the volatility with volatility ETFs.

Bailey McCann took the opportunity of examining the August volatility, quoting Adam Hetts, Global Head of Multi-Asset at Janus Henderson, who said: "The magnitude of market moves is perhaps as much about the lower liquidity we see at this time of year as the scale of any reset in sentiment or economic outlook."

Investors have also stepped into defense, with the current uncertain times in the world seeing the VanEck Defense ETF reaching USD1 billion in assets, doubling its assets in four months. While the armaments industry has historically been a sensitive subject, public perception and understanding of its relevance has evolved significantly, particularly since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, the firm writes.

Martijn Rozemuller, CEO of VanEck Europe, says: "Many investors now perceive substantial opportunities in shares of companies operating in the security and defence sector."

The big news this week was the first acquisition in the crypto ETP space, with the US’s Bitwise making its first commitment in Europe by buying ETC Group. For ETF Express, ETC Group will be forever remembered for that stonking performance, celebrated back in the 2022 ETF Express European Awards, for the remarkable growth of 34,259 per cent from launch on 8th June 2020 to 1st June 2021 for its BTCE ETP. Follow this link to revisit the event.

Today, Friday 23rd August is the last day for getting those ETF service provider nominations in for this year’s ETF Express US awards. Follow this link now to nominate your favourite service providers in the US ETF industry.

Voting for US ETF service providers and US ETFs, provided by Trackinsight, opens on Monday.

Finally, we can offer readers wishing to attend the RIA Edge West event in Marina del Rey, California in October, a discount of 20 per cent using this code – ETF2024Exp. The event details are here.

Beverly Chandler, Managing Editor

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