The fund, like all exchange-traded funds, is similar to an index-based mutual fund, but trades all day and is bought and sold like an individual stock. This particular iShare invests the entirety of its assets in REITs. The new fund was developed out of both institutional and retail demand for such a product.
"We are pleased that BGI has chosen, once again, to list their innovative products here at the Amex," said Salvatore F. Sodano, Amex chairman and chief executive officer. "In working with BGI, the Amex is able to continue to bring a variety of innovative investment vehicles to both the institutional and the retail investor."
The American Stock Exchange pioneered the concept of ETFs in 1993 with the introduction of trading in SPDRs® -- Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts®, an exchange-traded unit investment trust based on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index®. There are now approximately 78 ETF products trading on the American Stock Exchange, with assets currently totaling more than $70 billion. Each year since 1993, both total assets and trading volume of Amex ETFs have doubled.
