France-based ETF provider Amundi has announced that the Amundi ETF S&P 500 EUR Hedged Daily (H1D5) has been cross-listed on the Deutsche Börse, supplementing the fund’s existing listing on NYSE Euronext Paris.
The Amundi ETF S&P 500 EUR Hedged Daily enables investors to participate in the performance of the S&P 500 Total Return Net Index, a widely-tracked index of ‘blue chip’ US stocks, with hedging against daily exchange rate fluctuations between the euro and the US dollar.
The S&P 500 Total Return Net Index is weighted according to free float market capitalisation and in turn tracks the performance of the 500 largest US stock corporations.
Speaking at the initial launch of the fund on the NYSE Euronext Paris back in December 2011, Valérie Baudson, Managing Director of Amundi ETF, said: “This new ETF provides an innovative packaged solution for investors interested in the US market, who do not have the capacity or do not wish to manage euro/dollar currency risk themselves.”
Thierry Ancona, Head of Client Global Coverage at CA Cheuvreux, a broker and ETF market maker, stated: “This innovation will satisfy a real need expressed by certain investors and is a concrete competitively priced solution for confronting high volatility on the currency markets.”
The fund will compete against the London-listed iShares S&P 500 Monthly EUR Hedged (IUSE) and the DB X-trackers S&P 500 Euro Hedged Index ETF (XSPE), though both of these funds only conduct hedging on a monthly basis, as opposed to a daily basis for the Amundi fund.
By hedging currency risk on a daily basis, performance is impacted less by exchange rate volatility. This is likely to appeal to investors concerned about the current uncertain state of currency markets and the volatility of the EUR/USD FX rate.
Moreover, with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.28%, the Amundi ETF is cheaper than the iShares or DB X-tracker funds, which charge 0.45% and 0.30% respectively.
Amundi ETF S&P 500 EUR Hedged Daily
ISIN: FR0011133644
Total expense ratio: 0.28%
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: S&P 500 EUR Daily Hedged Strategy Index