ETF Wrap is a weekly digest of the top stories on ETF Stream. This week, we have two unique articles for you.
Firstly, BlackRock’s world ETF listed on the Deutsche Boerse experienced a sudden 5% drop in price shortly after US jobs data was released earlier this month. The $74.4bn iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (EUNL) briefly encountered a flash crash at 2.30pm CET on 5 April but quickly recovered as normal trading resumed. Despite the incident, other listings of the ETF across different exchanges remained stable. Following the crash, Deutsche Boerse conducted an investigation that did not reveal any signs of suspicious trading, market manipulation, or rule violations. Multiple stop orders were also triggered which exacerbated the decline. As a safeguard, trading was halted after a 5% volume limit was reached based on the previous night’s closing value.
Secondly, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest entered the European ETF market, launching three actively managed ETFs spanning innovation, genomics, and artificial intelligence. Anticipation of the launches sparked questions from fund selectors about whether Wood’s success would be replicated in Europe. After acquiring Rize ETF from AssetCo last September, ARK has launched a European roadshow to engage professional investors, despite concerns about its volatile track record and ‘FOMO-stock’ reputation from retail investors. Despite past setbacks, Wood said the launches are not just a result of increased interest from European investors but a “declaration of our long-term commitment to Europe”.