Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s NYSE-listed db X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR) has been approved for distribution by the Comisión Clasificadora de Riesgo (CCR), Chile’s pensions regulator.

Chilean pension funds can now invest in DeAWM’s NYSE-listed physical China A-Share ETF owing to its approval by the country’s pensions regulator. (Panoramic view of Santiago, © Gonzalo Baeza H)

From now on pension fund administrators in Chile, known as Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFPs), can utilize the ETF as a registered investment instrument enabling plan participants to gain direct equity exposure to the China A-shares market.

The ETF is the first such product to be registered in Chile to offer direct investment in China A-shares.

By way of its listing in New York, which shares the same time zone as Chile, the fund trades in local Chilean time.

Fiona Bassett, Head of DeAWM’s Passive Business in the Americas, said: “The recent approval of ASHR by the Chilean pension commission is further validation of the interest in the fund’s innovative exposure, and we believe it will complement our current product suite in Chile. As the provider of the largest suite of ETFs offering direct access to previously untapped Chinese securities, we are dedicated to offering both domestic and international investors access to one of the most coveted global investment opportunities.”

DeAWM’s US exchange-traded products platform has approximately $11 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2013. The firm’s global ETP platform, launched in 2006, has grown to become the world’s fifth largest, with approximately $63 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2013.