Simplex Asset Management, a Japan-based independent investment management firm, has licensed Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) of Dow Jones Indexes to underlie an exchange-traded fund (ETF). DJIA is a price-weighted index that tracks 30 of the biggest blue-chip stocks in the US.
This marks the DJIA serving as underlying of a Japan-based ETF. The Simple-X NY Dow Jones Index ETF is scheduled to start trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 10, 2009.
Michael Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes, said: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the iconic and most widely cited US market indicator, tracks the stock performance of the 30 largest and most liquid US companies.
“Simplex Asset Management has set a milestone by selecting the Dow as underlying for the very first US stock market ETF in Japan. For the first time, Japanese market participants can now further diversify their existing portfolios with US blue-chip coverage.”