JPMorgan and Euronext have announced the listing of the JPMorgan ETF GBI EMU, an exchange-traded fund based on JPMorgan’s European Monetary Union Government Bond Index, on the NextTrack se
JPMorgan and Euronext have announced the listing of the JPMorgan ETF GBI EMU, an exchange-traded fund based on JPMorgan’s European Monetary Union Government Bond Index, on the NextTrack segment of the Paris exchange where ETFs are listed.
The fund is a passively-managed benchmark tracker that replicates the performance of the JPMorgan GBI EMU index and offers investors access to the performance of the European fixed-income market through a basket of more than 200 government bonds.
‘With its long-standing expertise and leadership in the fixed income market, JPMorgan is excited to respond to French and European clients’ demand,’ says Thierry Marcolivio, head of structured fund promotion. ‘Through the JPMorgan ETF GBI EMU, investors can access the performance of a leading European government bond index in a simple and effective way.’
Adds Euronext head of ETFs Thibaud de Cherisey: ‘We are delighted that JPMorgan, a leader in the global fixed-income market, chose Euronext for the launch of their first European ETF. Through NextTrack, a preferred market venue for ETFs products in Europe, JPMorgan ETF GBI EMU will enable investors to easily access the European fixed income market.’
Launched in 1998, the JPMorgan GBI EMU Index comprises regularly-traded fixed-rate domestic government bonds issued by countries which use the euro as the official currency, including Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
The countries are weighted by market capitalisation and the total returns in each market are calculated, providing a relative measure of their performance. The index is rebalanced monthly to satisfy the composition rules for the underlying instruments.
The index market value is currently estimated at EUR3trn, with an average yield of 4.48 per cent and an average Macaulay duration (the weighted-average term to maturity of the cash flows from a bond) of 6.39 years.
The ETF is a French Ucits III fonds commun de placement managed by J.P. Morgan Structured Fund Management. JPMorgan and Banca IMI will act as market-makers for the fund.
Some 218 products invested in 164 different underlying indices are quoted on NextTrack, which has seen transaction numbers rise by 121 per cent during the first nine months of 2007 and average daily trading volumes grow to more USD300m.
