The first exchange-traded fund (ETF) on a fixed-income index in Europe was launched on Thursday in the XTF segment of Deutsche Brse. The ETF eb.rexx Government Germany EX is issued by Indexchange and tracks the Eurex Bonds Government Germany index (eb.rexx). The eb.rexx Government Germany index comprises the 25 most liquid German government bonds on the Eurex Bonds trading platform and is calculated by Deutsche Brse.
With the admission of the first fixed-income ETF in Europe, Deutsche Brse is continuing to expand the leading role of XTF as a platform for exchange-traded index funds. The XTF segment of Deutsche Brse, which was launched in April 2000, has developed into a leading marketplace in Europe. Some 45 percent of the European trading in ETFs is conducted on this platform; with 65 products, no other exchange in Europe offers a greater selection of ETFs.
Forty-six new ETFs were listed in the XTF segment last year alone, including five ETFs on country indices (DJ Industrial Average, FTSE 100, among others), two ETFs on the pan-European DJ Euro STOXX 50 index, the world’s first ETF on the MSCI World Index as well as 38 ETFs that track sector indices (DJ STOXX sectors, FTSE Global Sectors, among others).
As of year-end, the total fund volume of the ETFs traded in the segment amounted to 5.16 billion euros. This represents an increase of 93.3 percent against 2001 (2.67 billion euros) and is more than 1,000 percent higher than the figure for 2000 (438 million euros). Similar growth rates were also recorded in turnover, with some 31.7 billion euros in 2002 compared with 22.1 billion euros the previous year. Average daily turnover rose to 125 million euros in 2002, after 88 million euros in 2001.
The eb.rexx index family is calculated in line with the EEFAS (European Federation of Financial Analysts Society) standards valid in Europe and meets the demand for transparent and easily replicable indices. Due to the high transparency and liquidity of the Eurex Bonds trading platform, eb.rexx offers market participants an ideal basis for attractive financial market instruments like exchange-traded funds or derivatives, Deutsche Brse said.