The world’s biggest ETF company doubles the number of ultra-cheap ‘Core’ ETFs it’s offering.
About 20 months after the launch of its 10-fund “Core” lineup of ultra-cheap ETFs, BlackRock’s ETF unit iShares plans on Thursday to add another 10 funds to the group, a reflection of how investors are increasingly using ETFs as long-term core holdings.
The additions to the “Core” lineup will focus on U.S. growth, value and dividend equities, as well as European and Pacific equities. The new Core rollout will also focus on U.S. bond sectors, and a more diversified bond market exposure, the company said in a press release. The original Core funds cover broad swaths of the investment universe including the S&P 500, emerging markets, developed markets and big parts of the bond markets.
“Clients are using ETFs more and more at the core of their portfolios, whether they are personal investors or advisors or institutions,” Patrick Dunne, head of Global Markets & Investments for iShares, said in an interview with ETF.com. “So this launch is a natural extension for us to provide more tools and offer more choices to build that core.”
The focus on low fees is also sure to breathe new life into an ongoing fee war in the fast-expanding world of exchange-traded funds. Indeed, the rollout in October 2012 of iShares’ 10 original “Core” funds was widely seen as a riposte to the withering effect that low-cost ETFs sponsored by Vanguard and even Charles Schwab were having on iShares’ asset gathering.
Thursday’s launch, which also follows separate rollouts of “Core”-type ETF lineups in European and Canadian markets, will involve the repurposing of six existing funds and the launching of four brand new funds. The existing funds will mostly have lower expense ratios than previously, and together those six existing ETFs have about $5.6 billion in assets.
The 10 new Core funds—and, where applicable, their new tickers, new expense ratios and names (amended with the word “Core”)—are as follows:
