IShares

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iShares is the brand name of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) family pioneered by Barclays Global Investors.

Each iShare fund tracks a bond or stock market index. They are listed on the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange, or any of several European and Asian stock exchanges. iShares is the largest issuer of ETFs in the US and globally^[1]. On November 7, 2006 iShares announced the purchase of the INDEXCHANGE ETF unit of HypoVereinsbank for €240 million.

Unlike US iShares, Barclay's added currency hedging features to the Canadian iShares, to distinguish them from the US products in response to the elimination of limits on foreign holdings by Canadians in an RRSP. The Canadian iShares for the S&P 500 index and the MSCI EAFE index are currency hedged such that changes in the Canadian/US exchange rate are not reflected in the value of the XSP and XIN Canadian iShares.

Contents 1 The iShares brand 2 iShares and sports sponsorship 3 References 4 External links

[edit] The iShares brand

In the United States, Harold Evensky, a CFP(R) and Financial editor/author in Coral Gables, wrote financial articles using iShares and ETFs as interchangeable terms starting in 2003. This linking was used by Barclays Global Investors in their late 2005 advertising campaign to personal advisors by having established financial planners like Deena Katz CFP(R) promoting iShares over a generic ETF term. In Canada iShares used to be known as iUnits. Barclay's re-branded all Canadian iUnits funds as iShares in April 2006.

[edit] iShares and sports sponsorship

On June 16, 2006, the professional road bicycle racing team Phonak Hearing Systems announced that iShares, at that time a co-sponsor, had signed a three-year contract to become the team's title sponsor beginning in the 2007 UCI ProTour season. However, on August 15, 2006, Andy Rihs, the owner the team, stated that the deal had been officially called off and that the team would be disbanded at the end of the 2006 season. Rihs pointed to the Floyd Landis doping scandal (which broke out after the completion of the 2006 Tour de France) as being the reason for cancellation of the deal.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Morgan Stanley research, May 2006
2. ^ "Owner set to disband Landis' team", BBC Sport, 2006-08-15.

[edit] External links

• Official US iShares site
• Official European iShares site
• Official Canadian iShares site
• Official Barclays Global Investors site
• Changes to the XSP, XIN Canadian iShares, and the XSB and XRB Canadian iShares