Vanguard’s recent decision to drop MSCI benchmarks at its exchange traded funds is reverberating through the ETF industry.
However, some firms such as Van Eck have developed their own indices rather than paying licensing fees to third-party benchmark providers. WidsomTree is another ETF company that has designed its own indices. [Vanguard Benchmark Trade Shakes Up Index Industry]
Vanguard’s transition “does reflect multiple options out there for indices,” said Adam Phillips, chief operating officer at Van Eck, in a recent telephone interview.
For some ETFs, Van Eck licenses benchmarks from independent providers but also uses indices from its own index affiliate.
“We’re always looking at ETF fees,” Phillips said. “We’re trying to keep it low-cost.”
One example is Van Eck’s Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: BRF), which tracks a Market Vectors index.