BlackRock(R) Canada Launches a New Suite of Minimum Volatility iShares(R) ETFs Delivering Domestic, International, Developed ...
30 July 2012 - 9:15PM
Marketwired
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock Canada), an
indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., today
announced that its iShares business is launching a suite of minimum
volatility exchange traded funds (ETFs) to the Canadian
marketplace. This is the first time investors in Canada have access
to the full broad market suite of minimum volatility ETFs including
Canada, U.S., developed international, global and emerging markets.
All five of the iShares ETFs will begin trading on the Toronto
Stock Exchange today.
"With the uncertainty in today's markets, investors want to
capture potential market upside but still protect their assets,"
said Mary Anne Wiley, Managing Director, Head of iShares, BlackRock
Canada. "To help investors get off the sidelines, we have
introduced the new iShares Minimum Volatility Funds which offer
investors a unique opportunity to retain equity exposure in their
portfolio while seeking to reduce the overall equity risk in these
turbulent times. It's a compelling option for investors looking for
a contrast or complement to other portfolio management strategies
and will also optimize risk-adjusted returns over the long
term."
This new offering is in direct response to investor demand and
extends iShares current line-up of market-cap and
fundamentally-weighted broad market product suites. The new iShares
Minimum Volatility Funds can help investors reduce overall
portfolio risk while retaining exposure to the equity marketplace.
These funds optimize risk adjusted returns over the long term and
recent studies have shown that, historically, minimum volatility
portfolios have performed equally well, if not better, than the
market while potentially lowering risk. While the typical market
portfolio seeks to balance risk by including exposures to higher
and lower risk equities, minimum volatility ETFs seek to provide
steady performance that helps insulate against spikes in
returns.
The new ETFs are:
iShares MSCI Canada Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMV)
iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMU)
iShares MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMI)
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMM)
iShares MSCI All Country World Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMW)
The ETFs track minimum volatility indexes created by MSCI. These
indexes are constructed by optimizing the respective parent MSCI
indexes, which are capitalization-weighted, by determining weights
for securities in the indexes that result in portfolios with the
lowest total risk. Index constraints such as country, sector and
style exposures are applied to the optimization to ensure
diversification and investability, while broadly matching the
profile of the corresponding cap-weighted MSCI index. The new funds
can help provide a portfolio with downside protection while seeking
to maintain some exposure to the upside price movement.
"Minimum volatility ETFs are not just a tool to help shield
investors from wild market swings, they can be used as a holding
strategy in order to generate steady long-term growth," said Oliver
McMahon, Head of iShares Product Management at BlackRock Canada.
"In general, we expect our suite of minimum volatility funds to
deliver similar total returns to the underlying marketplace, but
with lower volatility along the way. This suite of products is
another innovative option within our family that increases
investor's flexibility and choice."
For more information about the new iShares funds, please visit
www.iShares.ca.
All other inquiries: 1-866-iShares (1-866-474-2737) or email
iSharesCanada@blackrock.com.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management
and advisory services for institutional and retail clients
worldwide. At June 30, 2012, BlackRock's AUM was $3.560 trillion.
BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet
clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies
across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety
of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares®
(exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles.
BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise
investment system services to a broad base of institutional
investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York
City, as of June 30, 2012, the firm has approximately 9,900
employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global
markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia
and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please
visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.
About iShares ETFs
iShares is the global product leader in exchange traded funds
with over 500 funds globally across equities, fixed income and
commodities, which trade on 20 exchanges worldwide. The iShares
Funds are bought and sold like common stocks on securities
exchanges. The iShares Funds are attractive to many individual and
institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of
their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility.
Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm,
financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type
of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the
institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well
as the retail segment of financial advisors and high net worth
individuals.
iShares® Funds are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada
Limited and BlackRock Investments Canada Inc. Commissions,
management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing
in iShares Funds. Please read the relevant prospectus before
investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual
compounded total returns including changes in unit value and
reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account
sales, redemption, distribution or operational charges or income
taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced
returns. The ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change
frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax,
investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate,
only with guidance from a qualified professional.
Contacts: Contact for Media: Veritas Communications Maeve
Hannigan 416-955-4570 or C:
647-618-8621hannigan@veritascanada.com
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