Barclays Global Investors Begins Expansion of Exchange Traded Fund Offering; iShares Provide the Best of Stocks and Index Funds in One Investment.Business Editors SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2000 Over 40 funds to launch, tracking popular indexes from Standard & Poors, Dow Jones Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202] See : Finance , Frank Russell, and MSCI Barclays Global Investors Barclays Global Investors is a subsidiary of British-based Barclays Bank which is in the investment management industry. It is the largest corporate money manager in the world, with over £936 billion (US$1.77 trillion) under management as of March 2006[1]. (BGI BGI Barclays Global Investors BGI Bainbridge Graduate Institute BGI Bureau Gravimétrique International BGI Borland Graphic Interface (File Name Extension) BGI Bridgetown, Barbados - Grantley Adams International ), the world's largest manager of index funds and one of the world's largest investment managers, announced today the aggressive expansion of exchange traded funds Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) Also known as ETF. A basket of stocks similar to an index mutual fund. However, there are a number of important differences between ETFs and mutual funds. for individuals, financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries institution that provide the market function of matching borrowers and lenders or traders. , and institutions. The launch, planned in stages through mid-July, will bring to over 50 the number of exchange traded funds offered as part of the iShares family. The first iShares exchange traded funds are available during the next two weeks: Fund Ticker Expense Ratio Availability ---- ------ ------------- ------------ iShares S & P 500 IVV .0945% 5/19 iShares Russell 1000 IWB .15 5/19 iShares Dow Jones Internet IYV .60 5/19 iShares Dow Jones Technology IYW .60 5/19 iShares S&P MidCap 400 IJH .20 5/26 iShares S&P/Barra Growth IVW .18 5/26 iShares S&P/Barra Value IVE .18 5/26 iShares S&P SmallCap 600 IJR .20 5/26 iShares Russell 1000 Growth IWF .20 5/26 iShares Russell 1000 Value IWD .20 5/26 iShares Russell 2000 IWM .20 5/26 iShares Russell 3000 IWV .20 5/26 iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial IYF .60 5/26 iShares Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications IYZ .60 5/26 iShares (www.ishares.com) are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on a national stock exchange. This flexibility enables investors to purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account Brokerage Account An arrangement between an investor and a licensed brokerage firm that allows the investor to deposit funds with the firm and place investment orders through the brokerage, which then carries out the transactions on the investor's behalf. . Similar to many index funds, iShares have low portfolio turnover -- which reduces transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). incurred by the Fund and minimizes capital gains distributions to investors. iShares also offer investors the broad diversification of index investing, and institutional-quality investment management from the world's largest manager of index funds. Similar to common stocks, iShares can be traded anytime during normal market hours and are priced intra-day, so investors know the value of their investments. "BGI leverages its global expertise in index management for the benefit of nearly 20 million investors in the largest pension plans worldwide," said Patricia C. Dunn For other persons of the same name, see Pat Dunn. Patricia Cecile Dunn (born March 271953), aka Patricia Cecile Dunn-Jahnke, is the former non-executive chairman of the board of Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), a position she held from February 2005 until September 22, 2006, when , Global Chief Executive of BGI. "iShares extend our institutional expertise and expert management to an even broader group of individual investors, financial intermediaries, and institutions." "iShares provide a truly modular approach to building core asset allocation Asset Allocation The process of dividing a portfolio among major asset categories such as bonds, stocks or cash. The purpose of asset allocation is to reduce risk by diversifying the portfolio. holdings in every investor's portfolio," said Lee Kranefuss, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of BGI's Individual Investor business. "These investments reflect the most important foundations of investing -- attention to low costs, risk management through broad diversification, tax efficiency, and understandable performance relevant to the index selected." BGI has been managing exchange traded funds since 1996, when it introduced WEBS (World Equity Benchmark Shares), providing investors with 17 foreign country index portfolios tracking the Morgan Stanley Capital Indexes (MSCI). WEBS provide a cost-effective way for U.S. investors to gain exposure to foreign countries not served by most closed-end funds or traditional mutual funds. On May 9, BGI announced a new advisory relationship with WEBS, with reduced expense ratios. In addition, the WEBS funds will be re-named to "iShares MSCI". Now, the "iShares MSCI" funds reflect the indexes tracked, and the consistent brand name for all exchange traded funds managed by BGI. On May 12, BGI launched a new iShares MSCI fund, iShares MSCI South Korea. Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is expanding exchange traded funds to investors around the world. BGI Canada introduced iUnits (www.iunits.com) in October 1999, in 2000, BGI Europe launched the first iShares exchange traded fund Exchange Traded Fund Similar to an index mutual fund, these tracking stocks trade continuously. Two popular ETFs are the Standard and Poor's depositary receipt (SPDR) launched in 1993 and the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) which was launched in 1999. (www.ishares.net) in the UK tracking the FTSE FTSE A company that specializes in index calculation. Although not part of a stock exchange, co-owners include the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times. Notes: The FTSE is similar to Standard & Poor's in the United States. 100, and BGI Japan reached agreement with Standard & Poor's to launch the first exchange traded funds in Japan. There are other global initiatives are under consideration in other parts of the world. Barclays Global Investors is the world's largest institutional investment manager, and the world's largest provider of structured investment strategies such as indexing, tactical asset allocation Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) Portfolio strategy that allows active departures from the normal asset mix according to specified objective measures of value. Often called active management. It involves forecasting asset returns, volatilities, and correlations. , and quantitative active strategies. BGI manages more than $780 billion in assets, and over 1,500 funds, which track over 200 global indexes, for nearly 1,600 clients in 36 countries around the world. As the creator of the first index strategy more than 25 years ago, BGI is truly an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI has over 1,800 employees worldwide and is owned by Barclays PLC, one of the UK's largest companies, and one of the world's leading global financial services providers, with operations in about 70 countries worldwide. *iShares are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. and are listed on the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. . Barclays Global Fund Advisors serves as an adviser to iShares and is a subsidiary of Barclays Global Investors, neither of which are affiliated with SEI. For more complete information, including charges and expenses, request a prospectus by calling your financial advisor or 1-800-iSHARES (1-800-474-2734). Please read it carefully before you invest or send money. The investment return and principal value of an iShares investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when sold, or Creation Unit(s) when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Although iShares may be bought or sold in the exchange through any brokerage account, iShares are not individually redeemable from the Funds. Investors may acquire iShares and tender iShares for redemption, through the Fund in Creation Unit aggregations only. In addition to the normal risks associated with equity investing, international investing may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuations in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles The standard accounting rules, regulations, and procedures used by companies in maintaining their financial records. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide companies and accountants with a consistent set of guidelines that cover both broad accounting or political instability in other nations. iShares are Not FDIC FDIC See: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Insured. Have No Bank Guarantee. May lose value. |
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