BlackRock, the parent of iShares, has announced that the Europe-domiciled iShares S&P 500 ETF has surpassed $10 billion in assets under management in Europe, ten years after its launch.

Assets held in Europe-domiciled iShares S&P 500 ETF have surpassed $10 billion, and yet the fund is far from the cheapest in terms of Total Expense Ratio.

David Gardner, Head of iShares EMEA Sales, commented: “As investors watch US events closely, those with a tactical interest in US equities will be searching for the best product to meet their needs. As the largest European ETF with exposure to the US equity market, the iShares S&P 500 fund may be of benefit to some investors.”

Gardner added: “The fund has a high secondary market liquidity which translates into narrow spreads and low trading costs, which in turn help to reduce the total cost of ownership of the fund. Another attractive feature is the tight tracking of the fund; on an annualised basis, the iShares S&P 500 has less than one basis point tracking difference after costs.”

The iShares S&P 500 is currently the third largest ETF in Europe and the most traded European ETF with exposure to the US equity market, according to the latest Q1 ETP Landscape report from BlackRock. The fund’s liquidity and tight bid-ask spreads allow investors to express their views on US stock market either for ‘buy and hold’ or tactical purposes.

The ETF is listed across five exchanges (the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Borse, Borsa Italiana, Euronext and the SIX Swiss Exchange) and in Dollar, Sterling and Euro trading lines. It is also available in an accumulating version, where dividends are automatically reinvested into the fund, and in Sterling and Euro hedged forms.

While the iShares S&P 500 ETF is one of the largest ETFs in Europe and the most traded of those tracking US equities, it is far from the cheapest. With a total expense ratio of 0.40% per annum, the iShares fund is considerably more expensive than SSgA’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY5), which charges just 0.15%.

List of London-listed S&P 500 ETFs:

SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY5)
iShares S&P 500 ETF (IUSA)
iShares S&P 500 Monthly GBP Hedged ETF (IGUS)
S&P 500 Source ETF (SPXS)
DB X-trackers S&P 500 ETF (XSPX)
Lyxor ETF S&P 500 (LSPU)
Credit Suisse S&P 500 ETF (CSPX)
HSBC S&P 500 ETF (HSPX)
Amundi ETF S&P 500 (500U)