Launch fatigue

Competition for new US exchange-traded fund listings is heating up, with Nasdaq launching a new incentive scheme for market-makers in July. But with similar schemes already in place at the New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange, will it make a difference? Jayne Jung reports

Have you ever wanted a transparent way to invest in the orthopaedic repair medical device sector? Or how about the autoimmune-inflammation pharmaceutical industry? If your answer to either of these questions is yes, then you're in luck. These are the niche sectors that New York-based financial products firm XShares hopes to target with its HealthShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) series.

The autoimmune-inflammation pharmaceutical ETF began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 9