AgioFunds, Beta Securities launch Poland’s first Nasdaq 100 ETF

Feb 9th, 2021 | By | Category: Equities

AgioFunds and its listing partner Beta Securities Poland have announced the launch of Poland’s first Nasdaq 100 ETF on GPW, the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Robert Sochacki, AgioFunds Board Member

Robert Sochacki, Member of the Management Board of Beta Securities Poland.

The Beta ETF Nasdaq-100 PLN-Hedged (BETANDXPL PW), the eighth ETF to list on GPW, uses synthetic replication to track the Nasdaq 100.

Currency risk between the US dollar and the Polish zloty is hedged on a regular basis.

Widely perceived as a proxy for innovative growth stocks, the Nasdaq 100 consists of 100 of the largest US and international non-financial companies by market capitalization listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, subject to various diversification requirements.

The index reflects companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, communications, retail/wholesale trade, and biotechnology.

The index is known for being ‘tech-heavy’ with roughly half (48.1%) of the current weight allocated to information technology stocks, while the majority of the remaining exposure is dedicated to the communication services (19.1%) and consumer discretionary (18.9%) sectors.

The index’s top positions currently include Apple (12.3%), Microsoft (9.1%), Amazon.com (8.9%), Alphabet (6.0%), Tesla (4.5%), Facebook (3.6%), Nvidia (2.7%), Adobe (2.3%), Paypal (2.0%), Netflix (2.0%), and Comcast (2.0%).

The fund comes with a management fee of 0.70%.

Robert Sochacki, Member of the Management Board of Beta Securities Poland, commented: “Beta ETF Nasdaq-100 is the first fund on GPW to provide exposure to the US Nasdaq technology index. It comes as another step on the way to the diversification of portfolios of Polish investors.

“Importantly, the fund hedges foreign exchange risk which is inherent in international investments. With Beta ETF Nasdaq-100, investors get access to the US market without being exposed to the risk of adverse change of the USD/PLN exchange rate.

“We welcome all investors interested in the US market, even if they have been discouraged by foreign exchange risk and resulting complex procedures. Last but not least, the fund is not subject to dividend tax as the index is replicated with futures.”

Izabela Olszewska, Member of the GPW Management Board, added: “The importance of ETFs and passive funds on the global capital market has grown dynamically in the past year. Assets under management of passive funds reached $8 trillion in 2020, an increase of 34% year-on-year.

“ETFs have a great potential on the Polish market as well. We are proud that GPW’s offer now includes an ETF on Nasdaq-100, one of the most replicated indices globally. The new fund on the index of US large-cap technology stocks is an interesting alternative for investors, especially that it is hedged in PLN with an embedded FX risk hedge.”

AgioFunds has also registered to launch an ETF providing currency-hedged exposure to the S&P 500. The fund is due to list in the coming weeks. Polish investors may currently obtain non-hedged S&P 500 exposure through the Lyxor S&P 500 UCITS ETF (LYPS PW).

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