A new film on Exchange Traded Funds

iShares, the world's leading Exchange Traded Fund provider, has produced the market's latest film on ETFs, providing an introduction into how the products work and how they can be used by all types of investor.

Commissioned by iShares and produced by Ridley Scott Associates, the film features senior industry figures from the international financial community and provides a history of ETFs and their characteristics, as well as offering insight into what lies ahead for this increasingly important product sector.

The initiative is part of iShares' continued efforts, as the ETF market leader, to educate the investor community on the benefits of ETFs, and is available for viewing on iShares' website at: ishares.com

Along with contributions from Stoxx, LSE and Euronext, a number of industry-leading figures are featured in the film:

Justin Urquhart-Stewart - Founder, Seven Investment Management
Debbie Fuhr - Global Head and Managing Director of ETF Research and Implementation Strategy, Barclays Global Investors
Andrew Clare, Professor of Asset Management - Cass Business School
Prof. Dr Kemph, Managing Director, Centre for Financial Research, Cologne

Commenting, Rick Andrews, Head of Marketing, iShares Europe, said: "ETFs are one of the most popular investment products of the past five years, and as the film itself asserts, are the next big trend in global finance that is changing the way investments are made.

"iShares takes great pride in the leadership role it takes in educating investors on ETFs, and this film aims to enlighten potential investors on the fundamental principles of ETFs as well as clearly illustrating how they can meet the specific needs of individual investors."

Justin Urquhart-Stewart added: "The simplicity of ETFs is really their best asset and they are a cost-effective way of providing investors with transparent and liquid access to multiple markets.

"However, the understanding of ETFs amongst the retail community remains low, and this film will help intermediaries and their clients better understand these products and how they can be used as part of a balanced investment portfolio."

In addition, iShares has launched an educational video entitled, ‘Understanding ETFs'. The video aims to educate investors on the inner workings of ETFs and includes information on how to trade ETFs, the creation and redemption process and how ETFs can be used as building blocks to construct investment portfolios.

Both videos can be viewed on iShares.com