Lyxor Asset Management has become the first exchange-traded fund issuer to track the FTSE Italia Mid Cap Index, with the launch of the Lyxor UCITS ETF FTSE Italia Mid Cap (ITAMID) on Euronext.
Developed and calculated by FTSE Group, the FTSE Italia Mid Cap Index consists of the 60 largest Italian companies by market capitalisation listed on Borsa Italiana, outside of those included in the FTSE MIB, which is the primary index for the Italian equity markets.
The index is weighted by free-float adjusted market capitalisation, subject to an individual constituent weights cap of 10% to avoid over-concentration in any one stock. As of April 30, 2014, major constituents included Banca Popolare Sondrio, Banaca Generali, Recordait, Hera, Unipol, Ansaldo STS, Sorin, Cattolica Assicurazioni, Interpump Group and Credito Valtellinese.
The index is part of the FTSE Italia Index Series, which captures 95% exposure of Italian domestic market capitalisation. More than $5 billion in ETF assets is linked to the series.
Sudir Raju, Managing Director, ETP Relationships EMEA, FTSE, commented: “As the ETF industry in Europe continues to mature, FTSE is delighted that issuers continue to develop more products to track the wide range of benchmarks FTSE offers across the region. Lyxor’s decision further validates FTSE’s commitment to Italy, while also reflecting the strong partnerships we form with all of our clients.”
Marcello Chelli, Head of Lyxor ETF Italy, added: “We are proud to bring to the market the first ETF tracking the performance of medium size Italian companies. The market was missing a mid cap ETF offering a highly geared exposure to the Italian equity market. After our FTSE MIB ETF passed the €1 billion milestone, FTSE was the partner of choice to develop our ETF on Italian mid caps.”