iShares launches India ETF

iShares has launched the S&P India Nifty 50 index fund on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The fund is designed to track the S&P CNX Nifty index, comprising the 50 largest and most liquid Indian securities listed on the National Stock Exchange of India.

iShares head of US product research and development Noel Archard says: "Demand for Indian equities continues to be strong as India has a differing set of companies and industries."

He adds the underlying index, among other emerging market indices, has a low correlation with US equities, providing a level of portfolio diversification.

iShares warns emerging markets entail heightened risks relating to potential capital loss from fluctuations in currency values, differences in accounting principles and economic or political instability in other nations.

The issuer says emerging markets are also susceptible to increased volatility and lower trading volumes, while narrowly focused investments based on a single country may also be exposed to higher volatility.

The latest product adds to a range of emerging market ETFs offered by iShares, including 18 regional and single country emerging market funds.

Around 30% or $9.8bn of iShares' total net asset flow has gone into emerging markets and single emerging countries at the end of October, according to Morgan Stanley Investment Strategies and Bloomberg.