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Van Eck Debuts Brazil Small-Cap ETF

By Staff Writer

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Van Eck Global has introduced the Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF), the first U.S.-listed ETF to focus on Brazilian small-cap stocks.

BRF and its underlying index (Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap Index, MVRIO) are designed to give investors exposure to domestic investment themes and opportunities, such as the growth potential in Brazil’s homebuilding and consumer goods sectors.

The underlying index holds 52 stocks, with Ultrapar Participacoes, Eletropaulo Metropolitana and Cyrela Brazil Realty being the top three holdings.

The largest Brazil ETF traded in the U.S. is the iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund (EWZ). Stocks within the fund have a median market capitalization size of $2.23 billion.

EWZ has $3.30 billion in assets and charges an annual expense ratio of 0.63 percent.

Emerging market stocks have been one of the best performing equity segments so far in 2009.

“In our view, small-cap stocks represent excellent direct exposure to the Brazilian economy since small-caps are typically driven by local trends,” said Jan van Eck, principal at Van Eck Global. “BRF is well-diversified and avoids the heavy commodities and materials weightings of other Brazil-focused products currently on the market.”

Van Eck added: “Energy and materials accounted for more than 50 percent of the weighting in the typical Brazil-focused index as of April 30th of this year. By way of comparison, energy and materials made up just 16 percent of MVRIO at that same time. We believe that this makes BRF a unique product and one that will appeal to investors who are looking for a different type of exposure to Brazil’s local economy.”

The top three industry weightings for BRF’s index are household durables, food products and specialty retail at 16, 9 and 8 percent, respectively.

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Ron DeLegge is the San Diego-based publisher and editor of ETFguide.com and the radio host of the “Index Investing Show,” which is broadcast nationally on Saturday afternoons and can be heard online at www.indexshow.com. Ron served as an investment and financial advisor for 11 years.