The SWX Group will soon offer a separate segment for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on virt-x. Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter, Head of the SWX Group, announced in a press conference on Friday the following 23 ETFs will be admitted to trading on 6 May, the first trading day:
- 4 Fresco Index Shares - launched by UBS Asset Management
- 4 iShares - launched by Barclays Global Investors
- 15 LDRS - launched by Merrill Lynch
In future, the SWX Group will be able to offer issuers a choice between two stock exchanges: the SWX Swiss Exchange, which is under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, and virt-x, which is under the supervision of the FSA. virt-x's new market segment is reserved for ETFs that are intended for an international market. For the most part, these products will be traded in Euros, British pounds, US dollars and Yen. On the SWX Swiss Exchange, ETFs are mainly traded in Swiss francs. The ten ETFs currently listed in the ETF segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange will remain there. By creating an international market segment for ETFs in addition to a national one, the SWX Group will enable its participants to access the quickly developing ETF market in the way that is best suited to their needs.
