"As the second largest securities exchange, CBOE is pleased to add iShares to our growing list of investment alternatives for investors," said CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky. "The iShares S&P 100 Index Fund offers the ability to establish long-term investments based on the market performance of the top 100 companies in the United States, with the ease of a single transaction."
"The expansion of the exchange traded funds market to the CBOE is a testament to the growing popularity of this product and to iShares," said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of BGI's Individual Investor business. "Barclays Global Fund Advisors, a subsidiary of BGI, manages the largest selection of exchange traded funds tracking popular indexes such as the S&P 100 Index."
iShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on a national securities 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. Similar to many index funds, iShares are designed to have relatively low portfolio turnover, which reduces transaction costs incurred by the fund and minimizes capital gains distributions to investors. iShares also offer 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 priced intra-day so investors know the value of their investments. For a full list of currently available iShares, visit www.ishares.com.
iShares S&P 100 Index Fund will trade only on the CBOE. Wolverine Trading LP is the Designated Primary Market Maker. OEF is quoted over Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) and cleared through National Stock Clearing Corporation (NSCC), subject to 3-day settlement. A prospectus is available by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737), or from the CBOE iShares website at www.cboe.com/icontact.
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, and quantitative active strategies. BGI managed more than $833 billion in assets as of 6/30/00, and over 1,500 funds, which track over 200 global indexes, for nearly 1,800 clients in 34 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.
CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, access the CBOE site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cboe.com.