SPDR ETFs, the exchange traded funds (ETF) platform of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has announced today that its new physically-backed equity and fixed-income ETFs have begun trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and are now available for UK investors.
SPDR ETFs are offered by SSgA, the investment management business of State Street Corporation.
This launch illustrates SSgAs focus and commitment to growing its European SPDR ETF business and complements the existing range of SPDR funds listed on the Euronext Paris and Deutsche Boerse, says the group.
UK intermediary and institutional investors are regular users of SPDR ETFs and this registration marks our commitment to bringing precise products to our clients, says Vin Bhattacharjee, head of the intermediary business for Europe Middle East and Africa at SSgA. All SPDR ETFs are backed physically and bring SSgAs superior portfolio management techniques and indexing expertise to clients. UK investors have been early adopters of ETFs and appreciate the products as simple and effective tools which aim to achieve low cost and transparent portfolio diversification.
Even though the trend towards increased ETF usage in the UK is evidenced in all client segments, the forthcoming retail distribution review (RDR) will bring about changes in the distribution landscape which will increase the interest in this product set amongst retail investors because of the uniform pricing structure of most ETFs in the UK, he adds.
The new SPDR ETFs include emerging market equity and global equity products, which are the first European equity ETFs tracking MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) and MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (ACWI IMI), and the first European fixed-income ETF to provide investors access to local-currency emerging-market debt.
The new SPDR Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond ETF is a European market first and the SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Aggregate Bond ETF is the first ETF globally to provide access to the investment-grade Sterling-denominated bond market by tracking the Barclays Capital Sterling Aggregate Index.
Our SPDR ETF LSE listing underscores our commitment to the UK, a large and influential market, says Eleanor Hope-Bell, head of the intermediary business Northern Europe. By using these additional SPDR ETFs investors will now be able to aim to create precise investment portfolios to meet their investment objectives. Investors looking for complete global equity exposure are moving beyond benchmarks that are focused only on developed markets.
Six of the new SPDR ETFs are focused on emerging markets and are aimed at giving investors precise tools to target both equity and debt exposures to the worlds emerging markets. The new SPDR ETFs include products that track emerging market stocks and government bonds broadly, as well as equity ETFs that focus in on the small capitalisation segment and track key regional groups of emerging markets.
We are very excited to have introduced the first local-currency emerging-market bond ETF in Europe. The depth and liquidity of the markets for government debt issued by developing countries in local currency continues to improve and international investors are increasingly interested in opportunities in this dynamic asset class. The SPDR Barclays Capital Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF aims to provide an efficient and cost effective solution for investors looking to include allocations to local emerging government debt in their portfolios, adds Hope-Bell. The MSCI ACWI Index broadens the global equity allocation benchmark commonly referred to the MSCI World, to include emerging markets providing investors a core building block for a truly global strategic allocation to equities. ACWI IMI takes this a step further by deepening the exposure through the inclusion of small cap stocks to provide a comprehensive index which covers developed and emerging markets and all size segments.
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(LB)