The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has announced that MSCI Index-linked futures will be traded on the exchange. MSCI is a provider of investment decision support tools worldwide.
The new product suite will provide South African investors with exposure to international markets through contracts based on the MSCI World Index, the MSCI ACWI Index, the MSCI USA Index and the MSCI Japan Index. Contracts for futures linked to the above mentioned indices will be loaded upon request on the Can-do platform and will be traded and settled in Rands.
“We are pleased to work with MSCI to broaden our suite of index derivatives products. Through the MSCI Index-linked products, local traders will gain another avenue to access exposure to developed markets,” says Graham Smale, Director of Bonds and Financial Derivatives at the JSE.
The MSCI World Index is an index of 1,610 stocks from developed markets and may be used as a benchmark for global equity funds performance. A related index, the MSCI ACWI Index incorporates 9,000 stocks from 44 developed and emerging markets. The MSCI USA Index and MSCI Japan Index aim to represent performance of the large and mid-cap segments of those respective markets.
This broadening of the JSE’s index derivatives suite follows on the JSE’s listing of futures based on the MSCI South Africa Index in January 2013. The MSCI South Africa Index is designed to include 50 JSE-listed large and mid-cap companies. Companies that have a primary listing on other exchanges are excluded to give greater weight to South African companies with primarily local operations.
“This latest expansion of our relationship with the JSE is a result of increasing demand from local investors for access to products that deliver exposure to MSCI’s international indexes,” said Baer Pettit, Managing Director and Global Head of the MSCI Index Business. “We look forward to continuing to work with them as they grow their MSCI-based futures offering in the region.”
For further information on MSCI, please visit www.msci.com