Buoyed by speculation the country could receive a promotion to emerging markets territory, the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia Capped ETF (NYSEArca: KSA) is luring investors.
KSA, which tracks the MSCI Saudi Arabia IMI 25/50 Index, debuted in September 2015 and is the only US-listed exchange traded fund dedicated to stocks in Saudi Arabia. The country is the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“Inflows this year have quadrupled the amount of assets in an exchange-traded fund that invests in Saudi Arabian equities, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (ticker KSA) may still be relatively small with just under $58 million in assets, buyers have been pouring money into the fund that had about $14 million in assets at the start the year,” reports Bloomberg.
KSA holds 76 stocks, nearly 71% of which hail from the financial services and materials sectors. The ETF is up 4.3% year-to-date.