ETF Watch: New Listings (June 19 - 25)

By Heather Bell

NEW LISTINGS

Barclays Rolls Out Four Funds On NASDAQ

Barclays Global Investors is hoping to pick up the heat in alternative energy markets by launching three new exchange-traded funds focusing on timber, clean energy and nuclear power.

The trio began trading on June 25, along with a broader-based version of BGI’s popular iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (NYSE: FXI).

The iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: ICLN) has an expense ratio of 0.48% and tracks the S&P Global Clean Energy index. The index includes some 30 companies, each with a majority of its revenue coming from alternative energy sources such as biofuels, ethanol, geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric.

The iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: NUCL) tracks an index with 24 constituents from around the world. The index also rebalances quarterly and groups names into two different subsectors—nuclear production and materials; equipment and services. Each subsector has a dozen different stocks and is capped at 50% apiece. Within the subsectors, companies are weighted by market-cap size with an 8% cap.

The iShares S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index Fund (NASDAQ: WOOD) tracks a 25-stock index of companies that either own timberland or produce paper-related products.

Like ICLN, both NUCL and WOOD charge expense ratios of 0.48%

The iShares FTSE China (HK Listed) Index Fund (NASDAQ: FCHI) has 90 constituents, making it broader than FXI, which has just 25 different names.

FCHI will follow a subset of the FTSE All-World Universe Index that represents a combination of mid-cap and large-cap stocks. The ETF includes Hong Kong-based companies doing business in China—about 38% of its constituents are “red chip” firms and about 62% are H-shares.

FCHI carries a 0.74% expense ratio.

• Read the prospectus for ICLN here.
• Read the prospectus for NUCL here.
• Read the prospectus for WOOD here.
• Read the prospectus for FCHI here.

NETS Launch First ETF To Cover Ireland

U.S. investors can now access the market once referred to as the "Celtic Tiger" via an ETF, after Northern Trust launched its NETS ISEQ 20 Index Fund on the NYSE Arca exchange under the symbol IQE on June 19.

The new fund tracks the local, blue-chip ISEQ 20 Index, which includes the largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Financial Services is the largest sector in the index by a significant amount, with a 40.86% weighting. The top five components are CRH PLC (14.24%), Allied Irish Banks PLC (13.23%), Elan Corp. PLC (12.29%), Bank of Ireland (8.05%) and RyanAir Holdings PLC (4.85%). At IQE's launch, the ISEQ 20 was down about 45% from the prior year.

The fund charges an annual expense ratio of 0.47%.

• Read the prospectus here.

New Barclays ETN Captures Emerging Market Currencies

Barclays Capital has launched another exchange-traded note that lacks the iPath brand name. The Barclays Asian and Gulf Currency Revaluation ETN (NYSE: PGD) made its debut on June 18.

The new ETN tracks the Barclays Global Emerging Markets Strategy [GEMS] Pegged Currency Index, which covers five currencies in the Middle East and Asia that are pegged to or float relative to the dollar and which could be revalued. The index currently includes the currencies of Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and China.

Many expect these currencies to have their pegs adjusted upward, creating a potentially low-risk investment with significant upside in the event of a revaluation. PGD charges an expense ratio of 0.89%.

• Read the prospectus here.

WisdomTree Rolls Out More Foreign Currency ETFs

June 25 saw the launch of two new members of the WisdomTree Dreyfus Currency Income exchange-traded funds family, bringing the total number of ETFs in the series to seven

The WisdomTree Dreyfus South African Rand Fund (NYSE: SZR) and the WisdomTree Dreyfus New Zealand Dollar Fund (NYSE: BNZ) both charge expense ratios of 0.45%. They join other WisdomTree Dreyfus funds covering the Chinese yuan, the Indian rupee, the Brazilian real, the euro and the Japanese yen.

The funds are designed to earn income that reflects the money market rates of their respective currencies but are not traditional money market funds. The ETFs invest primarily in short-term, investment-grade debt and seek to maintain an average portfolio maturity of 60 days.

The New Zealand dollar and South African rand are among the highest-yielding currencies of the developed and developing markets, respectively. 

New Listings: June 19 – June 25
Fund	Symbol	Exchange	Expense Ratio	Listing Date	Asset Class
NETS ISEQ 20 Index Fund	IQE	NYSE	0.47%	6/19/2008	International - Developed - Country
Barclays Asian and Gulf Currency Revaluation ETN	PGD	NYSE	0.89%	6/18/2008	Currencies
WisdomTree Dreyfus South African Rand Fund	SZR	NYSE	0.45%	6/25/2008	Currencies
WisdomTree Dreyfus New Zealand Dollar Fund	BNZ	NYSE	0.45%	6/25/2008	Currencies
iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund	ICLN	NASDAQ	0.48%	6/25/2008	International - Sectors
iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index Fund	NUCL	NASDAQ	0.48%	6/25/2008	International - Sectors
iShares S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index Fund	WOOD	NASDAQ	0.48%	6/25/2008	International - Sectors
iShares FTSE China Index Fund	FCHI	NASDAQ	0.74%	6/25/2008	International - Emerging - Country

• More on choosing the right ETF