As exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue their march towards the investment mainstream, iShares has accelerating the process in the Netherlands with the launch of 50 of its ETF products on Euroclear’s FundSettle fund processing platform.

Fifty of BlackRock’s iShares ETFs have been made available to Dutch investors on Euroclear’s FundSettle platform.

iShares’ products are the first ETFs on the platform, which hosts over 65,000 mutual funds, linking fund managers via straight-through processing with third-party distributors such as private banks and wealth managers.

The admission to FundSettle enables end investors to buy and sell shares in ETFs like mutual funds, at the end-of-day ‘net asset value’, thus offering an additional means of accessing the products.

While the service will initially only be available in the Netherlands, both Euroclear and BlackRock (parent of iShares) are exploring ways of offering ETFs in this way to other European markets.

The move comes at a time when ETF usage is expected to grow in the Netherlands as financial advisors increasingly look to build portfolios that blend ETFs and conventional mutual funds together. In Europe, assets held in ETFs have grown substantially in the last five years to $373 billion at the end of March compared with $133 billion at the end of 2007.

Leen Meijaard, Head of iShares Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “There is great interest in ETFs at the moment as the market moves towards a model without retrocessions and many investors want to be able to buy ETFs like mutual funds through their bank or wealth manager. Adding these iShares to FundSettle’s platform will help Dutch investors to build and manage a portfolio in a straightforward way.”

Jo Van De Velde, Head of Product Management, Euroclear, commented: “By meeting clients’ demand to execute their ETF orders via FundSettle, we are effectively allowing investors to purchase ETFs in the same way as their mutual fund investments. Euroclear is delighted to continue a long-standing partnership with BlackRock and deliver a quality spectrum of ETF services to institutional and retail clients alike.”

The 50 iShares ETFs have been selected in response to Dutch client demand and offer access to stocks and bonds in both developed and emerging markets. Products include the iShares MSCI Europe ETF, the iShares S&P 500 ETF and the iShares MSCI World ETF.