Societe General Asset Management (SGAM) has emerged as one of the more innovative ETF developers in Europe. The group, it seems, is happy to lead the way into new types of products, either by innovating themselves or by copy good ideas from across the pond. Lately, it's been pursuing the latter strategy, and it's been doing it to good effect.

After expanding its unique franchise of ETFs into inverse and inverse leveraged ETFs earlier this month (echoing, of course, similar funds from ProShares), SGAM follow up this week by launching a new private equity ETF that reminds many of a similar product from PowerShares.

The SGAM ETF Private Equity LPX50 tracks an index of 50 companies whose "core activity is the allocation of private equity capital," according to the marketing materials. The index's designers, LPX GmbH, specialize in private equity research, and say that, over the past 20 years, the underlying index has equaled or bested the performance of a diversified portfolio of closed-end private equity funds.

It is worth noting, of course, that many of the best private equity firms are exactly that - private equity - and that they do not trade shares on the public markets - through closed- or open-ended investing opportunities. Still, considering the growing role that private equity plays in the capital markets, it can't hurt to have some decent, low-cost exposure to the space. The funds may not be for everyone - they're certainly not for me - but they may have a role for certain investors. The new SGAM fund listed on Euronext Paris, and charges 70 basis points in annual expenses. Its ticker is LPX, and its ISIN is FR0010413518.

In the U.S., PowerShares launched a similar fund in October 2006 tied to an index from Red Rock Capital Partners. The PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio (AMEX: PSP)is controversial because many of its components have only a tangential relationship with the private equity space. So far, the fund has attracted just $60 million in assets, but it's received a huge amount of media coverage.