BATS Global Markets (BATS), a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, announces that the iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF (BATS: MEAR) begins trading today on BATS Exchange.
The iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF is an actively managed ETF that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in municipal securities such that the interest on each bond is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). Under normal circumstances, the Fund primarily invests in U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade short-term fixed- and floating-rate municipal securities with remaining maturities of five years or less, such as municipal bonds, municipal notes and variable rate demand obligations, as well as money market instruments and registered investment companies.
There are now 21 ETFs from iShares listed on BATS Exchange. Last week, BATS Exchange welcomed the iShares U.S. Fixed Income Balanced Risk ETF (BATS: INC), the first iShares smart beta ETF for the fixed income market, to its market. More information on these new iShares ETFs is available on the iShares website.
BATS ranks as the top exchange operator for ETF trading with the BATS Exchanges – BYX, BZX, EGDA, EDGX – handling 24.4% of all ETF trading in February1. BATS is also the leader in market quality for ETFs. In February, the BATS Exchanges had the lowest effective spread in 25 of the top 50 exchange-traded products, according to the BATS market quality statistics.
BATS does not charge an annual fee for issuers to list on BATS Exchange. Additionally, BATS is focused on improving market quality for every product that lists on the exchange through innovative market maker programs, which include the Competitive Liquidity Provider (CLP) and Lead Market Maker (LMM) programs. The CLP Program, which the iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF will utilize, rewards market makers for tighter quoted spreads with increased liquidity on BATS-listed securities.
Additional information on the BATS Listings program, including the BATS Listings Rules, is available on the BATS Listings website. Companies interested in learning more may email listings@bats.com.