iShares Launches USD-Hedged Europe Equity ETF

iShares has expanded its currency hedged fund range with the launch of an ETF that tracks European equities while hedged into the U.S. dollar to protect investors against a weakening euro.

The iShares MSCI EMU USD Hedged UCITS ETF (EMUU) launched today. It has annual fees of 0.38 percent and is physically replicated. It tracks an index of 240 companies across the Economic Monetary Union, with over 23 percent invested in financials and over 15 percent in consumer discretionary stocks.

The fund currently holds $5 million in assets and rebalances quarterly. As to currency hedging, the fund uses one month foreign exchange forward contracts to reduce exposure to currency fluctuations between the USD and the euro, according to the provider.

iShares now has a total of 11 currency-hedged ETFs, covering the euro, US dollar, Sterling and the Swiss franc. Most recently the provider launched the iShares MSCI Europe ex-UK GBP Hedged UCITS ETF (EUXS) with annual fees of 0.40 percent. It also brought to market a UK real estate ETF in March, which costs 0.40 percent, a European corporate bond ETF for 0.25 percent, and a U.S. buyback fund for 0.55 percent.