Stockholm, September 14, 2009 — NASDAQ OMX Nordic, part of the NASDAQ OMX Group
(NASDAQ:NDAQ), together with HQ Bank today announced the launch of a new
portfolio of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that will allow Nordic investors to
trade internationally recognized indices in local currency. The ETFs issued by
HQ Bank will be based on indices calculated by NASDAQ OMX and traded on NASDAQ
OMX Stockholm.
Trading of the ETFs from HQ Bank will start beginning of October 2009 (pending
regulatory approvals). Between launch in October and January 2010 HQ Bank plans
to list around ten ETFs at NASDAQ OMX Stockholm.
Jenny Rosberg, Deputy CEO at NASDAQ OMX Nordic said: “Through this partnership
with HQ Bank we are able to offer both institutional and retail investors in
the Nordics the same trading opportunities in ETFs as investors around the
world. The expansion of our ETF offering well matches customer needs and is an
important step in developing our local market, which holds great potential for
this type of product.”
Mikael König, CEO at HQ Bank said: “This launch marks an important milestone
for the Swedish ETF market, and we look forward to continue our collaboration
with NASDAQ OMX to grow our offering in this space. Our ETF portfolio provides
a perfect complement to managed funds, and is an investor-friendly and
cost-efficient tool for index investments as the products are traded the same
way as equities on a liquid market.”
About Exchange Traded Funds
An Exchange Traded Fund is a security that tracks an index, a commodity or a
basket of assets like an index fund, but trades like a stock on an exchange.
ETFs are a complement to actively managed funds and provide investors with the
possibility to invest in well known global indices in the local currency. In
the US, ETFs represent one of the most traded instruments with an annual total
turnover of over 9000 billion USD in 2008. In Europe it is one of the fastest
growing instruments in recent years and has more than ten folded its turnover
since 2002, reaching an annual turnover of over 400 billion EUR in 2008. ETFs
have been available in the US since 1993 and in Europe since 1999.
About NASDAQ OMX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers
trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents,
with over 3,700 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising
solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market,
NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A
sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including
equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and
exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70
exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more
than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal
entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in
Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more
information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made
under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These statements include, but are no limited to, statements about
NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not
guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond
NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors
detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to
release any revisions to any forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and
permissions which it seeks.
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Media Contacts:
Anna Rasin
+46 8 405 66 12
anna.rasin@nasdaqomx.com
Carl Norell
+46 8 405 66 39
carl.norell@nasdaqomx.com
