Products January 23, 2007

NY Firm Unveils ETFs for Health, Biotech Research

New York-based XShares Advisors LLC launched five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, with each aimed at a segment of the health care, life science and biotechnology industries.
Reported by

XShares said the new ETFs take a “vertical” approach to sector investing and that they will allow customers to emphasize in their investments diagnosing or treatment of diseases such as heart disease or cancer, according to a Reuters news report. Each will track an index of 22 to 25 stocks.

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According to the news report, the new ETFs are:

  • the Healthcare Cardio Devices Exchange Traded Fund.

  • the Diagnostics ETF.

  • the Emerging Cancer ETF.

  • the Enabling Technologies ETF; and

  • the Patient Care Services ETF.

Reuters said the Enabling Technologies ETF takes positions in companies that provide products or services that support the discovery, development and manufacturing efforts of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms.

Bill Kridel, chairman, chief executive and co-founder of XShares, told Reuters that the approach allows investors to make precise investments within health care that would be narrower than what is found in a traditional health care mutual fund.

The annual expense-ratio for the five new ETFs is being capped at 0.75%, according to the news report.

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