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"BGI is pleased to once again partner with the NYSE in bringing these ETFs to investors," said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of Barclays Global Investors' Intermediary and Exchange Traded Funds Business. "The launch of these ETFs will provide investors with an opportunity to invest in global and domestic companies listed on the Big Board."
"We are very excited to list two new ETFs based on our own indexes-the NYSE Composite Index and the NYSE U.S. 100 Index," said NYSE President Cathy Kinney. "With these tradable products investors can now own the NYSE marketplace for efficient and immediate diversification."
The NYSE Composite and U.S. 100 indexes represent most of the NYSE's $18 trillion global market cap-roughly five times that of any other market in the world. As of March 1, 2004, the NYSE Composite Index had a total market cap (float-adjusted) of $15 trillion, accounting for more than 78 percent of the total U.S. market cap and 66 percent of the total market cap worldwide. The securities represent a broad spectrum of large, mid-cap and small capitalization companies. The NYSE Composite Index was established in 1966.
The companies represented in the NYSE U.S. 100 Index have a combined market capitalization (float-adjusted) of approximately $6.0 trillion, covering 46% of the total market capitalization of all publicly traded companies in the U.S. as of March 1, 2004. They represent approximately 40% of the total market capitalization of all common stocks listed on the NYSE.
The new iShares products underscore the NYSE's commitment to building its ETF business. The NYSE now lists seven ETFs and trades a total of 36 on an unlisted trading privilege, or UTP, basis.
"Expanding our ETF product line, including these ETFs based on our own indexes, is an important complement to our core equities business," said Kinney.
The iShares Funds are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. The iShares Funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. For a list of currently available iShares Funds, visit www.ishares.com.
Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers[1] providing structured investment strategies such as indexing and risk-controlled active strategies. In the US, BGI is one of the largest active managers,[2] set apart by its risk-controlled approach. BGI managed over $1 trillion in assets as of 12/31/03, and over 2,000 funds for more than 2,200 clients in 39 countries around the world. BGI is an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI is owned by Barclays PLC.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the world's leading and most technologically advanced equities market. The NYSE is by far the world's largest market, and more capital is raised at the NYSE than in any other equities market. The Exchange is home to nearly 2,750 companies whose total global market capitalization exceeds $18 trillion. NYSE-listed companies-including 470 non-U.S. from 50 countries-range from "blue chip," to many of the world's leading technology companies, and young, high-growth enterprises. On an average day in 2003, 1.4 billion shares, valued at $38.5 billion, traded on the NYSE.
