Bulgarian investment manager Expat Asset Management has introduced six new ETFs on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra and Frankfurt exchanges, offering investors exposure to the main stock indices of Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia.
The reference indices of the ETFs comprise between seven and 19 of the largest companies by market capitalization based in these countries.
Due to the small number of constituents in these indices, the funds provide relatively concentrated exposure; however, capping at the issuer level of 15% allows the funds to remain UCITS-compliant.
The ETFs, all of which were initially listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange before being cross-listed to Deutsche Börse, implement their investment strategy via a direct physical replication method.
The funds are accumulating in nature, with dividends reinvested.
Similar to Expat’s previous cross-listings, the funds have annual operating charges of 1.38%.
The Expat Croatia CROBEX UCITS ETF (ECDC GR) tracks the CROBEX Index, the main equity index of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. It consists of 19 companies.
The Expat Serbia BELEX15 UCITS ETF (ESNB GR) tracks the BELEX15 Index, the main equity index of the Belgrade Stock Exchange. It consists of 11 companies.
The Expat Macedonia MBI10 UCITS ETF (MKK1 GR) tracks the MBI10 Index, the main equity index of the Macedonian Stock Exchange. It consists of ten companies.
The Expat Slovenia SBI TOP UCITS ETF (SLQX GR) tracks the SBI TOP Index, the main equity index of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. It consists of 11 companies.
The Expat Hungary BUX UCITS ETF (HUBE GR) tracks the BUX Index, the main equity index of the Budapest Stock Exchange. It consists of 16 companies.
The Expat Slovakia SAX UCITS ETF (SK9A GR) tracks the SAX Index, the main equity index of the Bratislava Stock Exchange. It consists of seven companies.
The cross-listings bring the total number of Expat ETFs listed on Deutsche Börse to 11. The funds are expected to be rolled out on London Stock Exchange in due course.
Expat’s first cross-listing to Deutsche Börse was in January when the Expat Bulgaria SOFIX UCITS ETF (BGX GR) listed on the exchange. The fund provides exposure to the SOFIX Index, Bulgaria’s foremost index for equity market performance.
In March, Expat cross-listed four ETFs that track the largest and most liquid companies in the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, and Greece.
While some of the countries listed above are included in existing ETFs offering regional exposure to Eastern Europe, Expat’s range of funds mark the first time investors may target the countries individually through a UCITS ETF wrapper.
The funds provide access to an under-explored investment opportunity for international investors and have the potential to encourage flows from foreign investors to the capital markets of these countries, further raising the profile of these countries as investable destinations.