The db X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund (NYSEArca: ASHR), the largest of the U.S.-listed exchange traded funds offering direct access to China’s A-shares markets, has been approved for registration by the Comisión Calificadora de Riesgo (CCR) for distribution among Chilean pension funds, according to Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.
ASHR is the first direct investment in China A-shares to be registered in Chile and listed on the NYSE, so that the Fund trades in local time, according to a statement issued by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.
Home to $203.3 million in assets under management, ASHR is one of the most successful ETFs to launch last year. The ETF, the first to offer U.S. investors physical access to China’s A-shares, debuted in November 2013. [A-Shares Launch Brings New EM Access]
“The recent approval of ASHR by the Chilean pension commission is further validation of the interest in the Fund’s innovative exposure, and we believe it will complement our current product suite in Chile,” said Fiona Bassett, Head of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s Passive Business in the Americas, in the statement. “As the provider of the largest suite of ETFs offering direct access to previously untapped Chinese securities, we are dedicated to offering both domestic and international investors access to one of the most coveted global investment opportunities.”
Chile is helping ETF issuers grow in Latin America because the country uses a private pension system that literally forces Chileans to be savers. Three decades ago, the country used a social security system similar to what is used in the U.S. Chile’s system went bankrupt.
Studies have proven the Chilean system is vastly superior to U.S. social security. Data indicate Chile’s “private retirement accounts provide workers pensions worth 87% of their salaries, 73% of that from profits on savings,” according to Investor’s Business Daily.