Lyxor Asset Management has launched an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to track the eurozone government bond market. The ETF, named the EuroMTS Global Master Unit, will initially be listed on Euronext Paris. Liquidity will be ensured by SG Corporate & Investment Banking and CDC IXIS Capital Markets.
The new product will be based on the Global EuroMTS index, a euro-denominated index measuring the performance of the entire eurozone government bond yield curve. The EuroMTS Index, formerly the CNO Etrix, is a real time Eurozone government bond index calculated using tradable prices and is comprised of the EuroMTS Global index and six maturity bands ranging from 1-3 years up to 15+ years.
The EuroMTS Global Master Unit, approved by the AMF (Financial Markets Authority), will provide investors with a simple way of diversifying their bond portfolios in a single transaction, while facilitating their investments in relation to direct purchases of government bonds or futures.
“We are confident that the advantages of the EuroMTS Index, including its unique price transparency and the tradability of the underlying bonds, when allied with Lyxor’s status in the European EFT market, will ensure the success of this product,” says Scott Stark, CEO of MTSNext. “The EuroMTS Global Master Unit is the first of its kind, the first to track the eurozone government bond market, and so represents an important development in the European EFT industry.”
Lyxor Asset Management, a fully owned subsidiary of Societe Generale, has over 3 billion (more than 30% of total European ETF assets under management) in its Master Unit range. Its CAC40 Master Unit is the largest European ETF and is currently the most heavily traded ETF listed on Euronext.