ETFs are instruments that provide investment exposure to a diversified range of underlying assets through exchange tradeable shares. Since the first ETFs appeared in the USA in the 1990s and in Europe in 2000, ETFs have become a well established and rapidly growing product with new investors and products entering the market on an ongoing basis. The growth and investment in ETFs has been, and continues to be, strong among both institutional and retail investors.

At the end of October 2009 worldwide assets under management (AUM) of ETFs stood at c$950 billion. In addition, there are now in excess of 1,800 ETFs actively traded on 40 exchanges globally, with a pipeline of over 800 planned new ETFs.

In the nine years since the launch of the first European ETF, the number of ETFs in the region has grown to in excess of 800 with combined AUM of c$200 billion. Almost 150 new ETFs were launched in Europe during 2008, a significant increase on previous years and a clear indication of just how popular the use of these index-based investments is becoming. A further 200 additions in 2009 means the number of ETFs available in Europe now exceeds the number avaialable in the USA.   

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) introduced an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on Irish underlyings to the Irish market in April 2005 with the launch of the ISEQ 20®  ETF, which tracks the ISEQ 20® Index. The ISEQ 20® Index was specifically developed by the ISE to provide a benchmark for index-based products such as ETFs and its constituents are twenty of the leading Irish stocks based on market capitalisation and liquidity.

Given the global growth in ETFs to date, projections for $2 trillion global AUM in 2011 and the scope for significant growth in ETFs as an asset class in Ireland, the ISE has launched an ETF Segment, which gives investors the opportunity to gain investment exposure to a broad range of underlying assets via ETFs traded on the ISE.

Investors can now access, via the ISE, an entirely new suite of products which have been launched by ETF Securities as well as the existing ISEQ 20® ETF. The initial 13 ETFs from ETF Securities have an innovative sectoral and commodity focus and a global reach.

• For a more detailed explanation of ETFs please refer to the What are ETFs? section.
• To find out more about the mechanics of ETFs please see the How do ETFs work? section.
• Information on the advantages of investing in ETFs can be found in the Benefits of ETFs section.
• For a full list of ETFs traded on the ISE as well as individual product information sheets and a link to up-to-date ETF prices please refer to the List of ETF Products section.
• Additional information is contained in Frequently Asked Questions . For any other queries in relation to ETFs please contact a member of the ISE's Market Development team at marketdevelopment@ise.ie.