iShares has expanded its family of single-country exchange traded funds (ETFs) in recent weeks. Their newest addition, tackling the fast-growing Eastern European country of Poland, comes at a time of growth and optimism in the nation.
The iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market Index Fund (NYSEArca: EPOL) began trading this week. The ETF provides investors with the opportunity to take greater advantage of Poland’s economic growth, which is outpacing most other Eastern European countries. [Why Pay Attention to the Poland ETF?]
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has upped its forecast for Poland’s GDP, now saying they expect it to grow by 3.1% in 2010 and 3.9% in 2011. Last year, Poland grew 1.8%. According to Polish Market, Poland’s economy started accelerating on the strength of exports, consumption and reserves.
ETF Guide reports that Poland is home to roughly 38 million people and the country’s total GDP in 2009 was almost $700 billion. Located in central Europe, Poland does not use the euro currency, which may work in its favor at this point. EPOL joins Market Vectors Poland ETF (NYSEArca: PLND) which has around $20 million in assets and charges 0.76% annually. [6 ETFs to Watch in a European Banking Crisis.]
For more stories about Poland, visit our Poland category.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.