BlackRock Inc.’s (NYSE:BLK) iShares unit, the world’s largest issuer of exchange traded funds, is swapping indexes for three of its single-country ETFs.
“The changes to capped benchmarks are being implemented to seek to reduce tracking error in the funds and improve the investor experience,” said BlackRock in a statement. “Fund names and tickers remain unchanged. Current shareholders in the above mentioned funds are not required to take any actions as a result of these changes.”
The iShares MSCI Canada ETF (NYSEARCA:EWC) is switching from the from the MSCI Canada Index to the MSCI Canada Custom Capped Index. The iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSEARCA:EZA) is also moving to a capped index, transitioning from the MSCI South Africa Index to the MSCI South Africa 25/50 Index.
The iShares MSCI Netherlands ETF (NYSEARCA:EWN) is making a similar move, switching from the MSCI Netherlands Investable Market Index to the MSCI Netherlands IMI 25/50 Index.
“The two key requirements for MSCI’s 25/50 indices are that, as of the quarterly rebalance, no more than 25% of the value of the fund’s assets may be invested in a single issuer, and the sum of the weights of all issuers representing more than 5% of the fund should not exceed 50% of the fund’s total assets,” according to ETF Strategy.