First Trust Adds Actively Managed Currency Hedged ETFs

First Trust, the seventh-largest U.S. issuer of exchange-traded funds, added three actively managed currency hedged ETFs to its lineup last week. Launched in partnership with RiverFront Investment Group, which will mange the new funds, the new ETFs are the First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Europe ETF RFEU, First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Asia Pacific ETF RFAP and First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Developed International ETF RFDI.

First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Europe ETF

RFEU is a diversified Europe ETF with over 40 percent of its weight allocated to France and Germany and almost 22 percent of its combined weight dedicated to the U.K. and Switzerland. Germany and France are the eurozone's two largest economies. Seven of the ETF's top 10 country weights are eurozone nations.

RFEU allocates 18.5 percent of its weight to consumer staples stocks with industrials placing second at 16.3 percent. The new ETF also features double-digit allocations to the consumer discretionary, financial services and healthcare sectors. RFEU came to market with over $25.3 million in assets and charges 0.83 percent per year, or $83 for each $10,000 invested.

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First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Developed International ETF

RFDI is heavily tilted toward European stocks with a smattering of developed Asia-Pacific equities. RFDI allocates over 22 percent of its combined weight to Japanese and Australian stocks while France, Germany and the U.K. combine for about 44 percent of that new ETF's weight.

Financial services and industrial stocks combine for over 36 percent of RFDI's weight, while the consumer staples and discretionary sectors combine for another 30.3 percent. RFDI debuted with $25.4 million in assets and also charges 0.83 percent a year.

First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Asia Pacific ETF

RFAP is almost entirely dedicated to Japanese and Australian stocks as those two countries combine for nearly 89 percent of RFAP's weight. RFAP's emerging markets exposure is scant with a weight of just under 1 percent assigned to Chinese stocks.

RFAP allocates 53.6 percent of its combined weight to financial services and industrial stocks. Consumer discretionary is the only other sector in the new ETF to garner a double-digit weight. RFAP also charges 0.83 percent a year and came to market with $26 million in assets.

“RFAP has an investment objective is to provide capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, it will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80 percent of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in a portfolio of equity securities of Asian Pacific companies, including through investments in common stock, depositary receipts and real estate investment trusts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts,” according to ETF Trends.