Entry into the popular iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSEArca: FM) is not likely to happen in the near-term for Saudi Arabia, but investors looking for some Saudi exposure have ETF options. The Market Vectors Gulf States Index ETF (NYSEArca: MES) traded modestly higher on Tuesday following news of the kingdom’s market liberalization plans.
MES has long provided Saudi exposure because the Market Vectors GDP GCC Index (MVMESTR), the ETF’s underlying index, allows for the inclusion of companies that derive over 50% of their sales from a target country. At the close of trading Monday, two members of the Market Vectors GDP GCC Index, a combined, 4.63% of the index’s weight, had Saudi exposure, according to Market Vectors.
Both Market Vectors and Global X have filed plans for single-country Saudi Arabia ETFs though neither fund has come to market. The $29.5 million MES is up 19.5% year-to-date.
Market Vectors Gulf States Index ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple.