iShares, the exchange-traded funds platform of BlackRock,
has unveiled the MSCI Frontier 100 Index fund - its first ETF product
exposed exclusively to frontier markets, which the firm believes is a
“relatively untapped and exciting investment opportunity.”

The frontier markets which are currently included in the index are:
Argentina, Bangladesh, Croatia, Estonia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania,
Serbia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Benchmarked against the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index, a subset of
the broader MSCI Frontier Markets Index, iShares says the fund is the
first of its kind available to US investors. The index provides exposure
to frontier market securities which are “specifically screened for
liquidity,” the firm said.

The ETF giant noted how frontier markets - which represent 30 per
cent of the global population - are projected to be among the world’s
fastest-growing economies, driven by an expanding consumer class and a
rich supply of natural resources. These markets are moving along the
same path that led global emerging markets to be one of the strongest
asset classes of the last 25 years, it added. 

In related news, earlier this year iShares rolled out the Emerging
Markets Corporate Bond fund, the first index-based ETF offering access
to investment-grade and high-yield bonds from firms based in Latin
America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it said. It also
launched 10 single-country ETFs, including those which seek market
exposure in Denmark and Finland.

At June 30, BlackRock had nearly $3.6 trillion in assets under
management. In total, iShares has over 600 funds globally, on 20
exchanges.