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NEW FUNDS

Solar ETFs Debut

Claymore Securities broke new ground recently with the launch of the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF (NYSE ARCA: TAN). The fund was the first exchange-traded fund to focus exclusively on companies operating in the solar energy space.

Van Eck followed up with its own fund about a week later, launching the Market Vectors - Solar Energy ETF (AMEX: KWT)

Solar energy, long ignored, is now a hot topic as energy costs continue to rise and concerns about the negative effects of fossil fuel use grow.

The funds are very similar, holding a global portfolio of stocks focused on the solar energy area. Both hold 27 companies and charge 0.65% in annual expenses.

IndexUniverse.com compared the funds in-depth here.

Read the prospectus for TAN here.

Read the prospectus for KWT here.

Doubling And Shorting ETNs For The Red-Hot Ags Market

On April 15, Deutsche Bank launched four new exchange-traded notes on the NYSE Arca exchange; all four offered short or leveraged exposure to agriculture commodities. The funds are:

• DB Agriculture Double Short ETN (NYSE Arca: AGA)
• DB Agriculture Double Long ETN (NYSE Arca: DAG)
• DB Agriculture Short ETN (NYSE Arca: ADZ)
• DB Agriculture Long ETN (NYSE Arca: AGF)

Invesco PowerShares recently became the first ETF provider to launch a family of active ETFs. The four long-awaited PowerShares ETFs are listed on the NYSE Arca exchange.
The four funds include three equity funds and one fixed income fund. AER Advisors oversees two of the equity funds---PowerShares Active AlphaQ Fund (PQY) and the PowerShares Active Alpha Multi-Cap Fund (PQZ)---using a quant-based methodology that tilts toward growth stocks.

The PowerShares Active MegaCap Fund (PMA) is managed by Invesco and uses a quant-based (and low turnover) screening system to select the best large cap stocks.

All three of the equity funds charge expense ratios of 0.75%.

Finally, the PowerShares Active Low Duration Fund (PLK) is a fixed-income fund targeting a duration of 0-3 years. PowerShares has positioned PLK as a tool for dealing with interest rate risk and as a possible core portfolio holding. It charges an expense ratio of 0.29%.

You can read the prospectus for the new PowerShares funds here.

NETS Expands To Germany, Japan, Hong Kong

Northern Trust continued the aggressive rollout of its global ETF family, launching funds tied to the German, Japanese, French and Hong Kong markets.

The NETS DAX Index Fund (AMEX: DAX) launched on April 11 and provides exposure to the DAX Index, the best-known measure of the German market.

The three other funds listed on the NYSE Arca exchange on April 16 and are:

• NETS CAC40 Index Fund (France): FRC
• NETS Hang Seng Index Fund (Hong Kong): HKG
• NETS TOPIX Index Fund (Japan): TYI

All of the funds charge 0.47% in annual expenses.

The prospectus is available here.

NEW FILINGS

PowerShares Files For Frontier ETF

Frontier market ETFs are going to be coming to a stock exchange near you… eventually. Invesco PowerShares recently filed with the SEC to create just such a fund. Frontier markets are those that are ranked just below emerging markets in terms of development. The asset class has gotten more attention as emerging markets have begun displaying closer correlations with developed markets. Vietnam's phenomenal growth in recent years has also not hurt matters.

The PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio will track the Middle East and Africa Frontier Countries Index, which covers 50 stocks—five each from Nigeria, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Components must have market capitalizations of at least $500 million, and a six-month average daily traded value of at least $1 million.

Read the prospectus here.

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