BGI iShares Begin Trading On The American Stock Exchange

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

14 April 2003

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) has announced that the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund will begin trading on the American Stock Exchange on April 11. It will be benchmarked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Free (EMF) Index which is the most commonly followed index in the asset class.

It is intended that the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF will both simplify trading in emerging market securities and cut the costs of investing in an individual security on an emerging market exchange. The fund's expense ratio will be 0.75%.

"Introducing the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund is a natural progression for BGI," said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of BGI's Intermediary Business. "We introduced the first emerging markets index fund in 1991, and the first international ETFs for US investors in 1996. Today we're pleased to provide our US clients with the long-awaited EEM, along with 33 other international/global iShares, including seven other emerging markets ETFs," Kranefuss continued.

The MSCI EMF index is a free float market capitalisation measure which tracks equity market performance across the globe. As of the end of March this year, it represented 26 emerging market nations, totalling 676 securities from Asia (54%), Latin America (18.6%) and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (27.3%). It is denominated in US dollars and aims to provide both liquidity and diversification. The fund plans to hold approximately 200 local securities including American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). This will provide exposure to 20 equity markets.

The iShares index funds are traded like ordinary stocks on an exchange and are attractive to individual and institutional investors due to their low costs, flexibility and tax efficiency. Shares can be traded through traditional and online brokers as well as financial advisors.

As of March 31, 2003, the index included the following 26 emerging market countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela.

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