A second exchange traded fund focusing on initial public offerings (IPOs) from international companies is now trading with Wednesday’s debut of the First Trust International IPO ETF (NasdaqGM: FPXI).
The First Trust International IPO ETF, the international cousin of the popular First Trust US IPO Index Fund (NYSEArca: FPX), tracks the IPOX International Index. The IPOX International Index measures the performance of the 50 largest and typically most liquid companies that are domiciled outside the U.S. within the IPOX Global Composite Index, according to a statement issued by First Trust.
Like FPX, FPXI includes spin-off and can hold constituent firms for up to 1,000 days after their IPOs. Potential new additions to the ETF’s underlying “generally must have at least six full days of trading in order to enter the index on each rebalance,” according to First Trust.
“Recent IPOs and spin-offs represent an important segment of the international stock market that is often absent from broad international index ETFs,” said Ryan Issakainen, senior vice president and ETF strategist at First Trust, in the statement. “This fund provides a diversified and systematic strategy for investors to gain exposure to these stocks before many are added to broad international index funds.” [Three New ETFs From First Trust on the Way]
International IPO ETFs such as FPXI offer investors an advantage via the removal of the stock-picking burden. While that may not sound like the most attractive selling point, consider this: Most international IPOs and spin-offs have produced negative returns over the 12-, 24-, 36- and 48-month periods following their IPOs, the best performers have generated returns that have more than offset the losses from the laggards, according to First Trust.
International IPOs are also underrepresented in major global benchmark indices, which could broaden the appeal of FPXI. As of Oct. 2, the IPOX International Index’s constituents combined for just 1.38% of the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Index, according to First Trust data.
FPXI faces competition from the Renaissance International IPO ETF (NYSEArca: IPOS). IPOS, which debuted last month, has traded slightly lower since coming to market though the ETF is up 3.3% since mid-October.
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this article.