State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) announced it will launch two exchange traded funds (ETFs) focusing on global shares for Australian investors.
The new funds will be the SPDR S&P World ex-Australia (WXOZ) and the SPDR S&P World ex-Australia (Hedged) Fund (WXHG). They are designed to give Australian investors exposure to international equities.
The unhedged ETF, WXOZ, will begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in coming weeks subject to ASX approval.
The hedged ETF, WXHG, is designed to provide a similar exposure while reducing the impact of currency fluctuations and will follow shortly after.
Both ETFs will track securities in the relevant hedged or unhedged version of the S&P Developed ex-Australia LargeMidCap AUD Indices. They include large and mid-capitalisation stocks from 25 developed countries.
"Many Australians want to invest in international equities such as Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Toyota. For the first time they will be able to access approximately 350 international equities through an ETF priced in Australian dollars and listed solely on the ASX," said Amanda Skelly, SSgA's head of SPDR ETFs in Australia.
"Many investors already hold a large allocation to Australian equities. So the new ETFs will appeal to investors wanting to buy more equities but not wanting to increase their domestic weighting. The unhedged ETF will appeal to investors who think the Australian dollar will go down," she said.
