The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that The NASDAQ Stock Market(r) (NASDAQ(r)) has listed a new exchange traded fund (ETF) sponsored by WisdomTree Investments, Inc. NASDAQ is the most liquid U.S. market for ETFs, capturing 37.9% of all U.S. ETF volume in June. Average daily matched share volume was 477 million, more than any other U.S. exchange.
Effective today, NASDAQ listed the WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund (Nasdaq:GULF). The WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund is based on the WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Index. GULF provides investors with exposure to approximately 70 dividend-paying companies listed in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The NASDAQ ETF Market is designed specifically to support new ETFs such as GULF. The focus of The NASDAQ ETF Market is the Designated Liquidity Provider, a Market Maker who has been selected to maintain liquidity in qualified ETFs (i.e., Qualified Securities). NASDAQ requires Designated Liquidity Providers to maintain a higher standard of market quality measured by spread, depth, and time quoting at or near the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO). They receive price incentives to support ETFs during their period of initial listing, when ETFs need to develop more active trading.
NASDAQ OMX is a leading index calculator and designer and creator of some of the world's most popular ETFs. NASDAQ OMX indexes are the basis of 28 ETFs worldwide and the NASDAQ-100 Index(r) alone is the basis of more than 500 investment products in more than 36 countries.