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Speaking of the consumer discretionary sector, FTSE Russell said it is adopting consumer discretionary and consumer staples classifications. The index provider currently uses Consumer Goods and Consumer Services at the Industry level.
“REITs continue to grow globally as they provide investors stable long-term dividend income streams. FTSE Russell’s elevation of Real Estate as its 11th ICB Industry is timely, as the listed real estate industry is growing strongly and is increasingly viewed as an investment asset class in its own right,” said Dominique Moerenhout, CEO of the European Real Estate Association (EPRA).
Several of the largest international ETFs that trade in the U.S. are benchmarked to FTSE indices including the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO), the largest emerging markets ETF by assets, and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK). The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: FXI), the largest China ETF, also tracks a FTSE index.
For more information on real estate investment trusts, visit our REITs category.