Moscow Exchange launches ETF on shares of global technology companies
On 10 December 2018, the Technology 100 ETF, a Russian exchange-traded fund managed by Alfa Capital, began trading on Moscow Exchange under the ticker "AKNX".
The ETF tracks the performance of the top 100 leading global technology companies by market capitalisation including Amazon, Apple, JD and Baidu. Aton acts as market maker for the fund.
The Technology 100 ETF is the first Russian exchange-traded fund on international assets denominated in USD. It will allow investors to diversify their portfolios.
Alexander Afanasiev, CEO of Moscow Exchange, said:
"ETFs make investing easier and more profitable, particularly for less experienced investors. This is especially important in light of the growing interest in investing among the Russian public. 2.7 million Russians have accounts on Moscow Exchange, and more than half a million Individual Investment Accounts (IIA) have been opened. The new ETF allows investors to benefit from the upside offered by global instruments within the framework of Russian legislation and leveraging transparent pricing, high levels of liquidity and reliability offered by the country’s on-exchange infrastructure."
Irina Krivosheeva, CEO of Alfa Capital, said:
"This new type of ETF will facilitate capital management for both Russian retail and institutional investors. The ETF is a convenient tool for investing in the innovation sector of the global economy, building a FX risk-hedging strategy and diversifying even small investment portfolios in the most simple and effective way. Buying the ETF covers high-growth sectors and companies from many regions of the world without incurring significant costs."
Currently, 15 ETFs under the Finex ETF and ITI Funds brands as well as two ETFs issued under Russian law by Sberbank Asset Management and Alfa Capital trade on Moscow Exchange’s Equity and Bond Market. The funds’ underlying assets are MOEX indices, shares, bonds and commodities. Total trading volume in the ETFs was RUB 20.33 bln in the first eleven months of 2018 (2017: RUB 9.3 bln).