iShares launches low-fee Europe ETFs tracking broad indexes

Rudy Luukko 24 April, 2014 | 6:00PM
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A pair of exchange-traded funds investing in Europe -- one currency-hedged and one unhedged -- are the newest additions to the iShares ETF family managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd.

Trading opened today on the Toronto Stock Exchange in iShares MSCI Europe IMI Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) (XEH/TSX). The unhedged fund, iShares MSCI Europe IMI Index (XEU/TSX), began trading on April 22.

The iShares offerings stand out in their category for their low management fees of 0.25%. They become the cheapest in the European Equity category, with a fee that's 15 basis points lower than their closest rival, BMO MSCI Europe High Quality Hedged to CAD Index ZEQ.

Another distinguishing characteristic of the iShares ETFs is their very comprehensive mandates within the European equity universe. The reference indexes, which include small-capitalization stocks as well as large- and mid-caps, represent 99% of the stock-market capitalization of developed European markets. As of Jan. 31 of this year, these indexes had a total of 1,315 constituent equities.

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About Author

Rudy Luukko

Rudy Luukko  Rudy Luukko is a freelance writer who contributes to Morningstar.ca on topics involving fund industry trends and regulatory issues. He retired in May 2018 from his position as editor, investment and personal finance, at Morningstar Canada, where he had worked since 2004. He has also worked as an editor and writer for various general, specialty and institutional media, and he has co-authored courses for the Canadian Securities Institute. Follow Rudy on Twitter: @RudyLuukko.

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