YSE Euronext is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with SPA ETF, a specialist provider of exchange-traded funds and Portuguese bank Caixa-Banco de Investimento to launch the first ever Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in Portugal.
From today the SPA ETF PSI-20 will be listed on the NYSE Euronext market in Portugal and will track the PSI 20 (the Portuguese Stock Index), opening the Portuguese ETF market to both retail and institutional investors alike.
The new Exchange-Traded Fund is being listed as a direct response to investor demand. Portugal represents a significant investment opportunity for both local Portuguese investors and international investors looking to gain exposure to Portuguese stocks. ETFs combine the simplicity of shares with the risk diversification of investment funds. The ETF segment continues to grow and is increasingly successful on all the European and US NYSE Euronext markets. A daily average turnover of €357 million was traded on NextTrack in 2008, (NextTrack is Euronext’s dedicated product segment for trackers and structured funds) an increase of 22% compared with the daily average in 2007 of €292 million.
This new development with Caixa represents the first European distribution deal for SPA ETF. As an independent company, SPA ETF plans to set up further partnerships with distributors across Europe which stands to benefit from SPA ETF’s platform and expertise in creating and listing exchange-traded funds tailored to specific needs of its partners. Miguel Athayde Marques, ceo of Euronext Lisbon and Member of NYSE Euronext Management Committee, said "With the launch of the first ETF in Portugal we achieve our main objective which is innovation and, in addition, we make investing in Portuguese equities easier".
Valentim Martins from Caixa – Banco de Investimento, commented: "Caixa-BI is excited to be the first to bring these modern, innovative, cost efficient financial instruments to the Portuguese market. The huge growth of the ETF industry worldwide has been remarkable and we are convinced that this launch will be a great thing for investors in Portugal. The first ETF to be launched in Portugal tracks the PSI 20, so now Portugal can buy the market in just one share".
Pedro Fernandes, NYSE Euronext head of Trackers and ETF Development Europe, said: "ETFs are attractive investment products for all types of investors because they are at once flexible, transparent and cost efficient. They trade like a share and are accessible through financial intermediaries. They are transparent, since they are listed on a regulated market and replicate transparent indices, and they are cost-efficient because in one transaction, they allow investors to trade all components of the underlying index". "Importantly, ETFs are also economical: investors are not charged any entry or exit fees and the management fees are relatively low", he added.
