By Leslie Venzon
MANILA, (PNA) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the application of First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) to launch the country’s first exchange traded funds (ETF).
The First Metro Philippine Equity Exchange Traded Fund Inc. will offer to the local market its entire authorized capital stock of P3 billion consisting of 300 million common shares at a par value of P100.
The Fund will use the initial proceeds from the sale of the securities to purchase a basket of securities included in the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).
It aims to provide retail investors returns that would reflect the performance of the Philippine equities market by investing in a basket of securities included in the index.
The investment arm of the Metrobank Group earlier said it targeted to sell its authorized capital stock this month until January 2014.
ETFs are securities and investment instruments that track an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund, but trades like a stock on an exchange.
The PSE has launched a marketing and education campaign to introduce the new investment instrument.