Holiday Celebrations!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016 - Christmas Eve arrived and there was only one event more anticipated than Santa coming to town as the Dow Jones Industrial was well on its way to 20,000 and seemed like an inevitable event. It wound up falling short for the time being but investors are still holding their heads up high as the markets appear to be finishing up nicely for 2016.

We again saw money flowing into ETFs last week where as of Wednesday, already over $7B poured into the Developed Market ETFs according to ETFG Fund Flows summary. One prime beneficiary of these fund flows was the RiverFront Dynamic US Flex-Cap ETF (RFFC). It saw $2.76M in net inflows by Wednesday which may not be a big chunk of the $7B that went into Developed Market ETFs but does make up for 33% of the ETF’s total AUM. RFFC is an actively managed ETF that does not follow an index. The fund’s portfolio is assembled by the subadvisor who selects securities based on several core factors such as value, quality and momentum.

Moving on to the ETFG Quant Movers, the Pacer Autopilot Hedged European Index ETF (PAEU) and the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) added the most points for the week which were 9.31 and 8.93 respectively. Due to these jumps, PAEU has a score of 59.8 and a grade of “B” in our Quant ratings and KWEB scores at a 58.4 and also holds a “B” grade.

Our Red Diamond Risk Rating report only carries one ETF with a 10 out of 10 risk rating. That ETF is the Direxion Daily Latin America Bull Shares (Triple Levered). The fund seeks 300% return of the S&P Latin America 40 Index and though it may be up slightly for the month of December, our models indicate that it may be a high risk going forward.

There have been major swings in the market this year and emotions were plentiful but looking back and seeing that the 3 major indexes are all up healthily in 2016 can only make this joyous time of year a little more sweet for investors. With only 4 trading days left in the year, we will soon put this one in the books and open up a new chapter for 2017 that is sure to be filled with even more of the usual and perhaps some of the unusual; fluctuations, head scratchers and uncertainty!

From the ETFG family to yours, we would like to once again wish happy holidays to all!

Thank you for reading ETFG Daily Perspectives!

ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

_____________________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice. ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.

Holly & Jolly

Monday, December 19, 2016 – As this is Christmas week and also marks the start of Chanukah, we wish all of our readers and their families and friends the most healthy and happy holidays!

In turning to the market roundup, last week the market started on a good note, however, stocks lost their momentum in reaction to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting that ended on Wednesday. Obviously, the biggest news of the week was that The Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates for by 25 basis points. Despite being widely expected and perhaps with the expectation of more raising of interest rates in the next year, stocks started to drop by the end of the week. The US dollar, however, continued to strengthen this week versus most major currencies because of the news. This week the Dow Jones ended up .4%, while the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ both lost .1%.

A sector analysis of this week shows that Telecommunications and Utilities did the best with a 2.24% and 1.84% return respectively. On the other hand, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary took the biggest hit with -1.62% and -1.35% loss.

The ETF Global Fund Flow analysis breaks down the daily fund flows and shows what funds have the greatest inflows and outflows of money. The top 3 inflows this month are HACW iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ETF, BSWN, (VelocityShares VIX Tail Risk ETN linked to the S&P 500 VIX Futures Tail Risk, and LSVX, VelocityShares VIX Variable Long/Short ETN linked to the S&P 500 VIX Futures.

While the top 3 funds with the most outflow were QDEU, SPDR MSCI Germany Strategic Factors ETF  FXG, First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund, and DBKO, Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF.

This week’s Biggest ETFG Quant Movers were IDV, iShares International Select Dividend ETF which gained 11.08 points in our ETFG Quant score, VIOG,  Vanguard S&P small cap 600 Growth ETF, which gained 10.32, and AMJ, JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN, which gained 10.23.

On the other hand our biggest losers for the week were BIGD, Purefunds ISE Big Data ETF which lost 8.36 in our quant score, JPN, Deutsche X-trackers Japan JPX Nikkei 400 ETF which lost 8.16, and GOEX, Global X Gold Explorers which lost 8.13.

This week the ETFG Select List has very minimal movement. Almost every top fund in each category either maintained their position or flip-flopped with number 2. Two exceptions to this were ECH, iShares MSCI Chile Capped ETF, went from 3-1 in the Latin American Category, and XES, SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF in the North America Category.

Thank you for reading ETF Global^® Perspectives!

ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

____________________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.

Finishing Strong

Monday, December 12, 2016 - Continued post-election optimism helped elevate the major stock averages to fresh highs on Friday, capping their best week since the presidential election. Amid another record-setting week, the DJIA gained 3.1% while the Nasdaq composite, S&P 500 and Russell 2000 climbed 3.6%, 3.1%, and 5.6% respectively. Several potentially destabilizing events, including the Italian referendum and the ECB's decision to scale back its quantitative easing program, did little to dampen investor enthusiasm for equities. All three major indexes rose on each trading day this week, something that hasn't occurred since September 2011.

These new highs in the major averages powered their index-tracking counterparts to record levels as well. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Powershares QQQ (QQQ), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) all closed the week at their best-ever levels.

Meanwhile, the post-election migration away from defensive assets towards cyclical assets remained in tact. Safe haven assets that gained favor earlier in the year against the backdrop of ultra-low interest rates, sluggish economic growth, and geopolitical uncertainty continued their post-election retreat and suffered large redemptions this week. Three of the year's most popular defensive ETFs, experienced sizable outflows this past week, with the Utilities Select Sector SPRD Fund (XLU), SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), and iShares Edge MSCI Minimum Volatility USA ETF (USMV) bleeding $107.94, $346.95, and $164.63M.

Conversely, money poured into ETFs perceived to benefit from the incoming administration's plans to reduce reduce regulations and taxes and invest heavily in infrastructure. Adding to their post-election gains, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI), and iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT) attracted $264.96, $330.64, and $41.50M of inflows.

The sustainability of this rally will face a key test as the FOMC gathers for its December meeting this week. While a rate hike is almost universally expected, the pace in which the Fed plans to pursue monetary tightening will have important implications for whether or not the stock market will be able to maintain its bullish momentum.

Thank you for reading ETF Global® Perspectives!


ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

_____________________________________________________________
Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.

New Top 5 Winners - Welcome New Executive Sponsor Fidelity!

We thank and welcome the new Executive Sponsor of the ETF Global^® Portfolio Challenge - Fidelity!

Friday, December 2, marked the end of the Fall 2016 ETF Global^® Portfolio Challenge, as students from around the globe vied against each other in a semester-long challenge to build the best performing portfolios of ETFs. Starting with a virtual balance of $100,000, students constructed portfolios of between 4-10 ETFs and competed on the basis of their portfolios’ total return.

Now in its 2nd year, the ETF Global^® Portfolio Challenge continued to expand its global footprint, attracting students from more than two hundred universities. This broad global participant base created no shortage of competition, as there was constant change atop our leaderboard. Against this deeply competitive playing field, five savvy investors were able to distance themselves from their fellow contestants.

Please join us in congratulating the Top 5 winners of the Fall 2016 ETF Global^® Portfolio Challenge!

Name	School	Total Portfolio Return
Wyatt Smith	University of Central Florida	45.45%
Matthew Parks	University of Central Florida	43.89%
Michelle Gu	University of Chicago	38.85%
Kashif Anwer	Rutgers University	31.18%
Matthew Tarka	Xavier University	25.17%

As the winners of this semester’s challenge, these students will be recognized at the ETF Global® Portfolio Challenge Awards Ceremony Ceremony during the Spring 2017 ETP Forum on Friday, April 7 at The New York Athletic Club.

Our Spring 2016 portfolio challenge winners just wrapped up their experience at the ETP Forum last week, which featured a private tour of the NASDAQ market site, being interview by Bloomberg Radio and presentations by WorldQuant and SEI during their Awards Ceremony – our Fall 2016 winners can expect more of the same!

ETF Global is proud to support this initiative and play a part in the education of the next generation of investors. As the ETF industry continues its explosive growth, we encourage all college students to take advantage of this opportunity and learn about this fast-growing investment vehicle before they enter the marketplace.

Spring 2017 Registration is open and can be found here: www.etfportfoliochallenge.com

Thank you for reading ETF Global^® Perspectives!

ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

_____________________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.

2017 ETP Forums & Thank You

We wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our Sponsors, Speakers and Attendees for your support which resulted in a very successful Fall 2016 ETP Forum last Tuesday.

Despite the challenging, rainy weather, we had well over 400 participants register.  We received a ton of positive feedback regarding the quality of the engagement and the substance of discussions during the sessions.  In fact, many participants said it was our best event ever!

Since 2017 is fast approaching, we wanted to let you know the dates for next year’s 2 ETP Forums, so that you can plan accordingly.

Spring 2017 ETP Forum - Friday, April 7^th

Fall 2017 ETP Forum - Tuesday, November 28^th

Both at The New York Athletic Club - all event information will be available at: www.etpforum.org

The agenda always evolves to ensure that we remain in sync with the markets and the developments within the Asset Management arena, but as a placeholder, you can use the below as a list of potential panel topics – we are always open to good suggestions as well:

• Market Impact of the New President
• New-to-Market ETF Roundtable
• Best Execution/Liquidity/Trading Challenges
• Currencies and ETFs
• Meet the New ETF Consumers
• Strategic Beta Strategies
• Investing for Yield
• Institutional Asset Owners - Use of ETFs
• Best Investment Opportunities in 2017

Once again, all event information including Agenda, Registration, Sponsorship and important conference updates will be available at www.etpforum.org

Thank you again for your support, happy holidays and see you soon!

Marching Forth

Tuesday, December 6, 2016 - Despite the uncertainty unleashed from this weekend's Italian referendum, major global equity indices all rose on Monday, as investors continue to contemplate the 'No' vote's long-term impact on the markets. The S&P 500 registered its best day in two weeks, climbing 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite and DJIA advanced 1% and 0.2% respectively. Surprisingly, after opening in the red Monday morning, European stocks finished in positive territory, with the Stoxx Europe 600 adding 0.6%. The resilience of European equities, along with positive incoming economic data, helped spur a continuation of the post-election rotation into riskier assets.

Leadership in the major US indices was driven by familiar sectors as the post-election Trump rally maintained its momentum. Cyclical sectors continued their resurgence, while the financials, consumer discretionary, and energy sectors advanced 1.2%, 1%, and 0.7% respectively. As the best-performing S&P sector on the day, financial-related ETFs attracted plenty of investor attention. Volume in the flagship Financial Selector SPDR Fund (XLF) surged to 95.14M, well-above its 3 month average of 74.59M, and gained 1.19%. XLF's 14% ascent since Election Day, has been fueled by expectations of tax cuts, regulatory relief, and rising interest rates to be ushered in by a Trump administration.

Similarly, the energy sector has been on an upward trajectory since Election Day, on the prospects of a rollback in environmental regulations, increased infrastructure spending and protective, domestic policy stances by our incoming administration. This in conjunction with the recent OPEC production cut agreement has buoyed energy ETFs in recent market action, including the Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF (RYE), which added 2.0% on Monday to its industry best 38.0% YTD gain. The rising momentum in the energy sector has spurred some changes atop our Quant leaderboard, where the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH) claims our highest Quant ranking. With a perfect 10 Green Diamond Reward Rating, OIH may be worth taking a look at for those looking to capture upside potential in the energy sector.

While the broader European market was able to endure the shock of the Italian referendum, with the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) gaining 2.20% on the day, it was widely expected that Italian stocks would suffer in wake of a defeat. However, the performance of Italian equity ETFs defied this prevailing wisdom. Despite having its largest sector weighting towards Italy's ailing financial sector, at 28.2%, the iShares MSCI Italy Capped ETF (EWI) closed the day up 0.81%. Although Italian and European equities rebounded Monday, the potential fallout of Italy's referendum is unknown and will continue to unnerve investors as uncertainty over the stability of the EU hangs over the markets.

Looking to the week ahead, all eyes will turn to the Federal Reserve's December 13-14 meeting, in which they are widely expected to increase short-term rates.

Thank you for reading ETF Global^® Perspectives!

ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

_____________________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor.