Barclays fund arm to boost ETF line-up in Japan
giovedì, 26 aprile 2007 11.10
Versione per stampa

By Jonathan Soble and Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Barclays Global Investors said it would more than double the number of foreign-registered exchange traded funds it sells in Japan.

In a statement planned for release later on Thursday and obtained by Reuters, Barclays said it had filed notice with regulators for 14 additional iShares ETFs, bringing the total number available in Japan to 26.

ETFs are index funds that are bought and sold on exchanges like individual stocks.

The newly available ETFs include funds linked to Chinese, South Korean, Brazilian and South African stock indexes; developed-market stocks and bonds; and the alternative-asset Macquarie Global Infrastructure 100 fund.

"The additional products are part of our ongoing product development effort," Nick Good, head of iShares Asia Pacific, said in the statement.

Barclays Global, which has about $287 billion (143 billion pounds) of ETF assets under management globally in about 190 funds, is in the midst of a re-organisation in Japan.

The company agreed last week to sell its Japanese asset custody business to Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., the country's fifth-biggest bank, for 4.9 billion yen.

Barclays will continue to manage the business' 11.26 trillion yen of client assets, while Sumitomo Trust will assume administration and custody duties.