Montreal Exchange To Begin Trading New Product: i60 Options

Options on the iUnits? S&P?/TSE? 60 Index Participation Fund (i60 Fund) will begin trading on the Montreal Exchange on February 11, 2000. As part of the range of products based on the S&P/TSE 60 Index launched by the Montreal Exchange last September, this new financial product will offer investors additional opportunities for risk management, while still making possible increased returns on investment. The iUnits? S&P?/TSE? 60 Index Participation Fund (i60 Fund) is managed by Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited (BGI Canada). "We are very pleased to offer i60 Options. By launching this new product on the i60 Fund, we now offer investors a complete range of strategic solutions based on the S&P/TSE 60 Index. Because of the great success of our futures and options contracts which are based on the S&P/TSE 60 Index, combined with the quality of the i60s developed by BGI Canada, we are very optimistic that the i60 Options will also be a great success. Reflecting a world-wide tendency towards maximizing market efficiency with complementary products, our strategy is to offer products based on underlying Canadian products such as the i60s," said Gérald A. Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Exchange. Since they were launched on September 7, 1999, the futures and options contracts on the S&P/TSE 60 Index have already reached an average daily volume of 4,500 contracts (futures and options combined). "We are excited that options on the i60s will commence trading this week. Now, with the options on the i60s themselves and the futures and options contracts on the S&P/TSE 60 Index already trading, investors have access to the complete derivative complex necessary for sophisticated investment strategies," said Gerry Rocchi, President, BGI Canada. "We are delighted that Canada's premier derivatives market, the Montreal Exchange, is launching another product based on the S&P/TSE 60 Index. We are committed to working closely with the Montreal Exchange, under our exclusive derivatives product agreement, and collaborating to establish quality products based on S&P indexes," said Robert Shakotko, Senior Vice President, Standard & Poor's, Index Services. Launched in 1998, the S&P/TSE 60 Index is Canada's leading stock market barometer, consisting of 60 of the largest and most liquid Canadian stocks traded on the TSE. The S&P/TSE 60 Index is also the Canadian component of the S&P Global 1200 Index. Standard & Poor's is the global leader in index construction and maintenance. i60s are units of the iUnits S&P/TSE 60 Index Participation Fund, a trust organized and managed by BGI Canada. The Fund invests in the shares underlying the S&P/TSE 60 Index and seeks to match the performance of the Index while maintaining a very risk-controlled profile relative to the Index. i60s provide investors with a convenient and flexible way to participate in the performance of the Index. Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited, the i60 Fund manager, has been Canada's fastest growing pension manager with more than C$24 billion in assets currently under management for over 100 institutional clients. BGI Canada is an indirect subsidiary of Barclays PLC and part of Barclays Global Investors, the world's largest institutional investment manager, with over C$1 trillion in assets under management. BGI is also the largest manager of index funds in the world, offering over 1,500 index funds tracking 200 indexes in more than 50 countries. National Bank Financial Inc. of Montréal has been appointed Designated Primary Market-Maker for i60 Options "XIU" and i60 long-term options (LEAPS®) "ZIU and WIU". The Montreal Exchange offers institutional and individual investors a complete range of strategic risk management products adapted for today's management portfolio needs.