WisdomTree Files For a Slew of New Currency ETFs

Here is the list of currency ETFs filed for by WisdomTree, according to IndexUniverse:

• WisdomTree Dreyfus Chilean Peso Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Czech Koruna Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Hong Kong Dollar Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Hungarian Forint Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Israeli Shekel Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Icelandic Krona Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Indonesian Rupiah Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Malaysian Ringgit Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Mexican Peso Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Norwegian Krone
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Polish Zloty Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Russian Ruble Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Singapore Dollar Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Swedish Krona
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Swiss Franc Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Taiwan Dollar Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Thai Baht Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Turkish Lira Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus BRIC Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Developed Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Asia Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Europe Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Latin America Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Gulf Currency Fund
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Oil Exporters Currency Fund

That is some list.

If they do actually list the Icelandic krona fund and there is very little interest in the fund, the payout stands to be quite high. WT runs into issues with the dividend from the fund not being that close to the index when a lot of assets pour in to that fund.

If they seed the Icelandic krona fund with $X and only one person buys in, then the yield is going to be in the teens. Of course, the krona could drop in value and if only one person buys in, then at some point the fund may close.

It looks like WT filed on August 20. That means the soonest any of these could list is 75 days (according to my understanding of the process). I doubt they will actually list a lot of these.

I can say I would be interested in quite a few of them, as they offer interesting potential and would really make the category very thorough. This also makes Taleb's idea of T-bills from around the world with 90% of the portfolio, combined with 10% in very risky stuff more easily accessed in a brokerage account.

If they list all of them (again, not what I expect) I would suggest moderation. My idea of going absolutely berserk with these would be to own two of them with modest weightings.

Comments

[4Annie:]

Which of these currencies (other than the Swiss Franc) are gold (or hard asset) backed rather than fiat?

2008 Sep 01 09:39 AM

[John-Galt:]

hahahahahahahaha

2008 Sep 02 12:46 AM

[ArkiTek:]

What is the ticker for the Icelandic ETF? Buy low, sell high! :)

2008 Nov 23 10:10 PM