Morningstar expands ETP coverage


Morningstar has expanded the number of its exchange trade products (ETPs) under coverage as the Australian ETP industry has grown significantly over the last five years.
The market coverage would now include strategic-beta vehicles, active vehicles and non-traditional asset classes, along with traditional market-cap and equity products.
Morningstar’s Australasia manager and research analyst, Anshula Venkataraman, said that there was a range of ETP options available and investors should know what they were buying.
“To help them, Morningstar has initiated coverage on several of these new product types,” he said.
This included Morningstar’s significant expansion of its research coverage of ETPs from 23 to 51 over the last five years.
The new product types, now under coverage, would include strategic beta ETPs such as VanEck Vectors MSCI World ex Australia Quality ETF, BetaShares FTSE RAFI Australia 200 ETF, and VanEck Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF.
Also, since 2014 Morningstar has been covering eight fixed-income ETPs, issued by iShares, Vanguard and BetaShares.
“We are also in the process of initiating coverage on several new infrastructure and global property products by Magellan, VanEck Vectors, and AMP Capital/BetaShares”, the company said.
“Morningstar expects the Australian ETP market to continue its growth, and our coverage will reflect that. Strategic-beta and active ETPs are likely to continue gaining market share as investors look for the convenience and lower cost of a listed product.
“However, investors need to do their research.”
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