Eight new names are joining ETF Deathwatch for December, and nine products are coming off the list. Six are leaving due to increased investor interest, and three ETFs are exiting because they are now dead, delisted and liquidated. ETF Deathwatch now consists of 374 (274 ETFs and 100 ETNs) names from the 1,445 listed for trading.

Even though there is a risk these ETPs could eventually close, liquidity risk is present today. For example, the iPath US Treasury 5-Year Yield Bull (DFVL) hasn’t traded since September 13. It is just one of eight Zombie products going the entire month of November with zero volume. iPath Short Enhanced MSCI EAFE (MFSA) is quoted today with a bid price of $37.14 and an ask of $112.10 (a spread of $74.96). Even more troubling is the fact that there are only 100 shares available at each end of those extremes.

The average

By Daniela Pylypczak

After a rather stagnant month for the ETF industry in April, May saw even lower levels of activity on the product development front. A grand total of 8 new funds hit the markets this month; however, investors were introduced to a number of new and intruiging first-to-market product, including one that offers exposure to the niche segment of “covered” bonds. Additionally, issuer ArrowShares made its debut to the ETF industry with the launch of its new Dow Jones Global Yield ETF. Below, we outline all of the new launches from the month to keep you up to date on all of the latest offerings available:

New ETFs

New exchange-traded products that began trading in May include:

• Bond giant PIMCO launched yet another actively managed fund: the Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond Strategy Fund (ILB), which is comprised of inflation-protected bonds, securities that are designed to

A grand total of 1,465 ETPs were listed for trading as of May 31. The count consists of 1,249 ETFs and 216 ETNs. Just eight new products came to market in May and none closed. So far in 2012, introductions totaled 129 (113 ETFs and 16 ETNs) and closures numbered 17 ETFs and no ETNs. The actively managed fund count increased to 47.

With market action mostly negative, assets under management ("AUM") dropped 5.7% to $1.14 trillion. A total of 22 products had assets of $10 billion or more, and 157 are over the $1 billion mark.

Trading activity jumped significantly last month. Total dollar volume (value traded) came in at $1.49 trillion, up more than 22% from April. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) alone accounted for 35.9% of all ETP trading activity.

The number of ETPs average daily trading over $1 billion grew from seven to eleven. These

New ETF and ETN introductions in May totaled only eight, the slowest pace in 19 months. Three of the new offerings are categorized as fixed income funds, two have allocations to multiple asset classes, one follows a hedge fund replication index, and two provide leveraged exposure to stock dividend indexes. Additionally, two of the new offerings are actively managed ETFs.

1) PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond Strategy Fund (ILB), launched 5/1/2012, is an actively managed exchange traded fund comprised of primarily high-quality inflation-linked bonds that span developed and emerging markets. Managed by Mihir Worah, it has 62 holdings, an effective duration of 6.73 years, and expenses capped at 0.60%. The top five country allocations are U.S. 21.8%, Mexico 15.9%, Brazil 11.4%, France 8.4%, and Canada 7.6% (ILB overview).

Opinion/analysis: No yield data is given but is expected to be less than 2%. ILB will compete

AdvisorShares has made another addition to its lineup of actively-managed ETFs, recently debuting a fund that will focus on the concept of sustainable investing. The new Global Echo ETF (GIVE) will be structured as a core allocation that will seek out sustainable investment-themed opportunities across various asset classes, including fixed income, equities, and alternatives. The GIVE portfolio will include individual securities as well as other ETFs [see also 101 ETF Lessons Every Financial Advisor Should Learn].

Sustainable Investing 101

According to AdvisorShares, sustainable investment opportunities take environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance factors (ESG) into account when making allocation decisions. Sustainable investing methodologies have the potential to contribute to superior long-term investing returns if managers are able to identify securities that will benefit from positive ESG factors. In other words, it can be beneficial to own stocks that build strong community relationships, avoid costly lawsuits and

AdvisorShares, an exchange traded fund provider known for its actively managed investment products, announced its intent to launch an active ETF that follows sustainable investment themes and provides long-term capital appreciation while showing a low correlation to traditional stock market indices.

According to a press release, the AdvisorShares Global Echo ETF (GIVE) will begin trading on May 24, 2012. The fund will have four portfolio managers allocating to sustainable fixed-income, long-only equity and alternative long/short trend-following strategies over a full market cycle.

Sustainable investment-themed opportunities include those that take into economic, environmental and technology considerations, along with a variety of social factors. These opportunities include those that focus on water, clean energy, community development, innovation and other sustainable themes across asset classes.

The ETF will hold U.S. and foreign equity securities, fixed income securities and other ETFs. Up to 65% of the of its assets