NEW YORK, March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Horizons ETFs Management (USA) LLC (" Horizons USA "), a member of the Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Group, one of the largest collective families of exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the world, announced today that it has launched the Horizons Korea KOSPI 200 ETF (" HKOR "). This is the first ETF listed in the United States that gives investors exposure to the KOSPI 200 Index (the " KOSPI 200 "), an important Korean equity index that holds 200 blue chip companies listed on the Korea Exchange (" KRX ").
HKOR seeks investment results that, before fees and expenses, generally correspond to the performance of the KOSPI 200 Index.
The KOSPI 200 is a free float-adjusted, market capitalization weighted index, which is comprised of 200 blue chip companies listed on the KRX. It uses factors such as market and sector representation and liquidity to determine stock weightings.
HKOR will be the first country-specific ETF launched by Horizons ETFs in the U.S. The KOSPI 200 is a widely used Korean equity benchmark to access Korea in Asia. It also has a robust derivatives market that provides a strong depth of liquidity for ETFs that track the index.
"HKOR will be the lowest-cost (0.38% Total Gross Expense Ratio) and most broadly diversified Korean equity ETF in the U.S." said Howard Atkinson, Managing Director, Horizons USA . " Korea is often listed as an emerging market economy, but with a well-established manufacturing base and steady GDP growth, it has an economic profile that is more in line with well-established developed markets, generally making it a more stable entry point into emerging market investing."
Horizons USA's global affiliates already have experience running KOSPI 200 ETF mandates in some of their other global ETF markets, such as Korea and Hong Kong.
"The launch of HKOR is a perfect example of how our firm can harness our global capabilities to deliver exceptional ETF solutions for the local markets we serve," said Taeyong Lee, president of the Global Business Unit of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co, Ltd. "We have extensive experience in running KOSPI 200 mandates on our global ETF platform, so it was a natural progression that we leverage that expertise to give U.S. investors low-cost exposure to the most broadly diversified Korean equity benchmark."
Horizons ETFs is able to leverage its global presence by utilizing Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited (" Mirae Asset Hong Kong ") as the sub-manager of the ETF. Mirae Asset Hong Kong is a leading asset manager based in Hong Kong that is part of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group (" Mirae Asset "), which manages more than $59 billion in assets globally (as at January 31, 2014), and is part of the Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of Asia's largest independent financial services groups.
Mirae Asset is also recognized as one of the largest investors in emerging market equities by AUM of fund managers' surveyed. 1 In fact, as of December 31, 2013, the investments in emerging markets equity alone exceeded US $22.71 billion.
"We think having Mirae Asset Hong Kong sub-advise HKOR is a great benefit to potential investors," said Mr. Atkinson. "We have great confidence in knowing that the ETF portfolio is being monitored by a professional portfolio management team based in Asia with extensive experience in the Asian equity market."
¹One of the largest investors in emerging market equities amongst 79 asset management firms surveyed - IPE Survey: Managers of Emerging & Frontier Market Equities, Investment & Pensions Europe (IPE) January 31, 2014.
Individual shares of the Horizons-branded exchange traded funds (the " Funds ") may be purchased or sold in the secondary market throughout the regular trading day on the New York Stock Exchange through a brokerage account. However, shares are not individually redeemable directly from the Funds. Each Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in blocks of shares (" Creation Units "), principally in-kind for securities included in the relevant Index. The Creation Unit for HKOR is 50,000 shares.
Before investing you should carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund's website at www.HorizonsETFs.com/USA . Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest. Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
There are risks involved with investing, including possible loss of principal. The Funds are non-diversified and may invest a greater portion of their assets in securities of a small number of Horizons ETFs Management (USA) LLC issuers which may have an adverse effect on Fund performance. Concentration in a particular industry or sector will subject the Funds to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or sector. See prospectus for specific risks regarding each Fund and sector.
The fund is comprised of securities of companies that are traded on the South Korean Stock Exchange and domiciled in South Korea. The risks of investing in the South Korean market include risks of natural disasters, lack of natural resources, reliance on trading partners, national security, unpredictable political climate, large government debt, and currency fluctuation. The realization of such risks could have a negative impact on the value of securities of South Korean companies. See prospectus for specific risks regarding each Fund, sector and country.
It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The KOSPI 200 is a product of KRX or its affiliates. The Underlying Index and the trademarks have been licensed for use in connection with HKOR by Horizons USA or its affiliates. HKOR is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by KRX or its affiliates and neither KRX nor its affiliates makes any representation regarding the advisability of investing in HKOR.
About the Horizons ETFs Group ( www.HorizonsETFs.com )
Horizons ETFs Management (USA) LLC is a member of the Horizons ETFs Group. The Horizons ETFs Group consists of innovative financial services companies offering regional families of ETFs in Canada, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and Colombia. Currently, all of the ETFs offered by these companies use the Horizons ETFs' brand with the exception of the 'BetaShares' family of ETFs in Australia and the 'Mirae Asset Tiger ETFs' family in Korea. With approximately US$8.8 billion in assets under management and 140 ETF listings worldwide (as at January 31, 2014), the Horizons ETFs Group makes up one of the largest collective families of ETFs in the world. All of the Horizons ETFs Group companies and affiliates are subsidiaries of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Ltd.
About Mirae Asset Global Investments ( www.MiraeAsset.com )
Mirae Asset Global Investments is one of the world's largest investment managers in emerging market equities ( Investments & Pensions Europe , January 2014). With approximately 570 employees, including 124 dedicated investment professionals, Mirae Asset offers a breadth of emerging markets expertise. Mirae Asset's offices are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Taiwan, the U.K., the United States and Vietnam. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, the firm manages $58 billion in assets globally (as at December 31, 2013) through a diversified platform to offer market-leading franchises in traditional equity and fixed income products, ETFs and alternative strategies, such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. Mirae Asset Global Investments (USA) LLC is focused on providing equity and fixed income investment advisory services to mutual funds, foreign investment trusts and institutions ( www.MiraeAsset.com )
For further information: Howard Atkinson Managing Director, Horizons USA (416) 777-5167 Media contacts: John McInerney Makovsky Integrated Communications (212) 508-9628 Joe Cunningham Executive Vice President, Horizons USA (212) 205-8381 Scott Tangney Makovsky Integrated Communications (212) 508-9661
