iShares expands US equity ETF coverage

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has announced its Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) platform, iShares, has launched a new ETF focusing on the United States (U.S.) market.

The iShares MSCI USA fund listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) today invests in the MSCI USA Index, one of the most popular benchmarks for institutional investors seeking exposure to the U.S. equity market.

It complements iShares existing S&P 500 fund, which is the largest US equity ETF in Europe by assets under management, and provides iShares clients with a choice of ways to access the US market through a physically backed, transparent ETF structure.

Commenting, Axel Lomholt, Head of Product Development for iShares in Europe and Asia ex-Japan, said: "iShares is committed to expanding its range of building block products; funds which offer precise and targeted exposure to single countries enabling investors to implement their asset allocation decisions efficiently and effectively. We currently have 30 UK listed iShares tracking single country benchmarks with over $20 billion in assets under management.

"The US equity market is very popular with investors and the MSCI USA index is well known to many of our clients. In line with the success of the iShares S&P 500 fund, we are confident that the iShares MSCI USA fund will gather significant assets."

The iShares MSCI USA fund is the fourth country specific ETF iShares has launched this year, following the listing of iShares MSCI Australia, iShares MSCI Canada and the iShares MSCI South Africa funds on the LSE in January.

It is offered in an accumulating form, where dividends are automatically reinvested into the ETF to remove the administrative burden of processing regular cash flows and dividends paid by the fund.