Deutsche Börse: Four New Index Funds In XTF Segment: UBS Fifth Issuer In XTF Segment

Deutsche Börse AG is continuing to expand its XTF Exchange Traded Funds segment. Four new index funds have been trading under the name Fresco Index Shares in XTF since Tuesday: Fresco Euro STOXX 50, Fresco Dow Jones UK Titans 50, Fresco Dow Jones Industrial Average und Fresco Dow Jones US Technology. Furthermore, the Fresco Dow Jones US Large Cap index fund will follow shortly. The funds are issued by UBS Asset Management. In addition to this, DWS, Indexchange, LDRS and Unico are issuers in the XTF segment.

In April 2000, Deutsche Börse became the first European exchange to launch a segment for exchange-traded funds. The XTF segment has established its position as the leading market segment for exchange-traded funds in Europe, with a European market share of more than 50 percent in February.

Including the new products, there are 43 index funds and 13 actively managed equity funds listed in the XTF market segment. There are no loads for the purchase of fund shares through the stock exchange; all the investor has to pay are the usual transaction costs for the purchase and sale of securities. Investors can buy the shares through any bank that offers trading in equities.

Roughly 98 percent of the volume traded in the fund products in the XTF segment is posted through Xetra, which means that all of the main trading parameters from equities trading are also valid for XTF. These include continuous trading, auctions, a minimum lot of one fund share as well as Designated Sponsors who provide for liquidity.