SSgA has announced the launch of two new SPDR funds on the NYSE, the SPDR MSCI EM 50 ETF (EMFT) and the SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF (ACIM), tracking emerging market and global equities respectively.

The SPDR MSCI EM 50 ETF (EMFT) provides access to 50 of the largest MSCI Emerging Markets Index constituents, including companies from EM giants India and China.

The funds are designed to provide investors with an opportunity to tap into the growth potential of emerging market and international equities.

The SPDR MSCI EM 50 ETF tracks the performance of the MSCI EM 50 Index, a free float-adjusted market capitalisation-weighted index that includes 50 of the largest MSCI Emerging Markets Index constituents.

To enhance liquidity, the index applies eligibility screens that exclude smaller emerging market countries and replaces constituent securities for selected markets with depositary receipts.  The SPDR MSCI EM 50 ETF expense ratio is 0.50%.

“Against a backdrop of a reduction in emerging market equity values in 2011, the asset class now offers a more attractive entry,” said James Ross, senior managing director and global head of SPDR Exchange Traded Funds at SSgA.  “The launch of the SPDR MSCI EM 50 ETF enhances our emerging market SPDR ETF offering and provides investors with very precise access to a well-established index.”

The SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF seeks to track the performance of the MSCI All Country World Investable Market Index, a free float-adjusted market capitalisation-weighted index that captures up to 98% of the developed and emerging investable market universe.  As of 31 December, 2011, the index was comprised of 8,920 publicly traded securities across 45 countries.  The SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF expense ratio is 0.25%.

“The SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF provides investors with an opportunity to capture the global equity investment opportunity set in a single trade,” said Ross.  “As awareness of the benefits of reducing home country bias in a portfolio grows, global equity is increasingly viewed as a single, core asset class.”

SSgA manages more than $274 billion in SPDR ETF assets worldwide (as of 31 December, 2011) and is the second-largest ETF provider globally, behind iShares.