iShares to launch Australian equities ETFs

Nov. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- Sydney, Australia, 9 November 2010 - BlackRock today announced that its iShares business, the world’s leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is planning to launch four new Australian ETFs. These will be its first ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to focus solely on the Australian sharemarket.

Once launched, the new funds will provide investors with a simple and cost-effective way to obtain immediate, diversified exposure to the Australian sharemarket with one trade.

The new funds will be:

• iShares MSCI Australia 200 – will aim to track the performance of the MSCI Australia 200 Index investing in the 200 largest companies in Australia;

• iShares S&P/ASX 20 – will aim to track the performance of the S&P/ASX 20 Index investing in the twenty largest blue chip companies in Australia;

• iShares S&P/ASX High Dividend – will provide exposure to 50 large Australian companies with a particular focus on higher dividends;

• iShares S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries – will aim to track the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index, an established index which represents small cap companies in Australia.

Commenting, Damien Frawley, CEO, BlackRock Australia said:

“We look forward to launching our first suite of Australian ETFs to the local sharemarket. Our new offering is in response to increasing investor demand for greater choice and flexibility when investing in Australia. We believe these new iShares ETFs will have broad appeal across investors, advisers and institutions.”

“Demand for ETFs in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region is now increasing at a faster pace than the rest of the world. In Australia, ETF assets increased 48% to $4.1 billion in the 12 months to October 2010 – double what it was two years ago. The number of ETF products listed on the ASX has increased by 36 per cent over the last year. As the global leader in ETFs, iShares is absolutely committed to remain at the forefront of this rapidly developing market through its focus on new product development, investor education and client service,” Mr Frawley said. The Australian iShares ETFs are not currently available for investment. More information on the new funds will be available once the necessary regulatory lodgements have been made.