Exchange traded fund benchmark indices can change over time, removing and adding components, and BlackRock’s iShares has updated its Ireland ETF to better follow Irish company exposure.
The iShares MSCI Ireland Capped Index ETF (NYSEArca: EIRL) will try to reflect the performance of the MSCI All Ireland Capped Index effective November 27, according to a press release.
The new underlying index is comprised of companies that are domiciled in or have a significant presence on Ireland.
The new index promises to include “securities of companies that are headquartered or listed in Ireland, and have the majority of their operations based in Ireland but are not classified in Ireland as per the Investable Market Methodology,” according to iShares.
“The changes are being implemented in order to increase the fund’s diversification,” iShares said.
In comparison, the old MSCI Ireland Investable Market 25/50 Index tracks equity securities listed on stock exchanges in Ireland.
The changes suggest that the new index will include holdings listed on non-Ireland based exchanges that are not eligible in the old MSCI index.
EIRL has been outperforming European and U.S. markets this year as the country recovers from the debt crisis and is on track to wean itself off the Eurozone and International Monetary Fund bailout program. The fund is up 40.9% year-to-date. [Ireland ETF Outperforms as Country Exits Bailout]
For more information on ETFs and indices, visit our indexing category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.