iShares' three new MSCI ETFs allow investors to 'dial up' countries

By Toni Weeks

San Diego, Jan. 12 - BlackRock, Inc. launched three new equity exchange-traded funds benchmarked to MSCI indexes and offering exposure to local securities, according to a press release.

The iShares MSCI World Index Fund targets global developed equities without emerging markets exposure, while the other two funds, the iShares MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index Fund and the iShares MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index Fund, are designed for investors looking for smaller developed markets offering stronger relative growth.

In this month's edition of iShares Market Perspectives 2012 Outlook, Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at iShares, said that investors may look to smaller developed markets such as Canada, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong, the "CASSH" markets, for "stronger growth potential and better fiscal health than other developed markets this year."

"Investors increasingly want to customize their global equity exposure by dialing up or down certain countries and market caps," head of U.S. iShares Product Development and Management at BlackRock Dark Wojnar said in the release. "We will continue to expand our robust product line-up to support the growing number of investors seeking to build portfolios very closely suited to their specific needs."

The iShares MSCI World Index Fund includes 1,487 stocks from 24 key developed countries around the world. It seeks investment results that correspond generally to the MSCI World Index and generally invests at least 90% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index.

The fund trades on the NYSE Arca under the symbol "URTH."

Total annual fund operating expenses will be 0.24%, which consists entirely of a management fee, according to the release.

The iShares MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index, which is designed to measure the performance of equity securities of small capitalization companies whose market capitalization represents the bottom 14% of the Hong Kong securities market. The fund generally invests at least 90% of its assets in the securities of the index or in depositary receipts representing securities of the index.

The fund trades on the NYSE Arca under the symbol "EWHS."

Total annual fund operating expenses will be 0.59%, which consists entirely of a management fee.

The iShares MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index, which is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of small cap equity securities in the bottom 14% of equity market capitalization in Singapore.

The fund trades on the NYSE Arca under the symbol "EWSS."

Like the Hong Kong fund, the Singapore fund's total annual fund operating expenses will be 0.59%, which consists entirely of a management fee, according to the release.

A portfolio management team consisting of Rene Casis, Diane Hsiung and Greg Savage will manage all three funds.

San Francisco-based BlackRock Fund Advisors will be the investment adviser for all three funds.

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