iShares reaches $1 billion in AUM
BlackRock's exchange traded funds (ETF) business in Australia, iShares, has reached $1 billion in assets under management three years after the launch of its first suite of international ETFs.
BlackRock’s global head of ETF research and implementation strategy, Deborah Fuhr, said the ETF market in Australia is predicted to grow 20-30 per cent in the next couple of years.
Growth in the number of financial advisers increasing their usage of the product was one of the main factors driving the growth of this sector, according to Fuhr.
She said other factors might include a move to fee-based remuneration models for advisers as well as platforms’ embrace of ETFs.
The head of iShares Australia, Mark Oliver, said the key issue for ETF investors in 2011 was to understand what they owned in terms of product structure and index exposure.
“Not all ETFs are created equal and as more products enter the Australian market, we believe investors should apply close scrutiny before buying an ETF to understand all the costs, quality, reliability and, ultimately, the total performance of an ETF over time,” Oliver said.
“Questioning whether the ETF has consistent levels of liquidity in all economic conditions will also be paramount,” he added.
iShares currently has 23 ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, across both domestic and international indices.
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