Currency-hedged ETF inflows boom

Investor interest sparks race to construct new products

Edgar Senior, Source

The eurozone's pursuit of a quantitative easing programme has sparked sizeable inflows into currency-hedged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking European equities, with investors seek to gain exposure to ballooning equity market valuations while avoiding the accompanying currency slump engendered by the policy.

The launch of quantitative easing in the eurozone, heralded by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's announcement on January 22 of a €1.1 trillion ($1.23 trillion) bond-purchasi