OREANDA-NEWS. August 12, 2010. From August 12, 2010 RTS Standard market will start trading in a new instrument - investment units of an open-ended mutual investment index fund "Troika Dialog  - RTS Standard" under the management of the asset management company "Troika Dialog" included in Quotation list B. The units are admitted to trading via the on-exchange trading mode with settlement on T+4 under the RSTR ticker. The investment company "Troika Dialog" will act as the fund’s market-maker on RTS Standard, maintaining two-sided quotations. Specialized depository of the asset management company "Troika Dialog" will be performing online monitoring of the fund structure in full accordance with the approved list and weights of the RTS Standard Index component stocks.

The collateral requirement for the open-ended mutual investment index fund "Troika Dialog - RTS Standard" is set at 15%.

The introduction of these units to trading is the first step to the formation of ETF (exchange traded fund) analogues in Russia. ETFs are the most liquid and sought-after instruments for all groups of investors globally. These funds allow all types of investors regardless of their qualification level, to invest into composite financial instruments that have a balanced structure and include the most liquid instruments from various economy sectors of a particular country. Independent construction of a portfolio from the securities traded on the market is an alternative to investing into these funds units, which is both cost- and time-consuming, and requires online monitoring of all securities that comprise the portfolio.

Svetlana Rybina, Director, the RTS Stock market department, comments: "The launch of the fund units, which correspond to the RTS Standard Index, on RTS Standard will significantly extend the investment opportunities for RTS stock and derivatives market participants and will allow investors to build new arbitrage strategies such as RTS Standard Index futures against the new fund or a basket of securities against the fund. In addition, investing into units of the open-ended mutual investment index fund "Troika Dialog - RTS Standard" will give novice investors an opportunity to make transactions with a well-balanced instrument and at the same time minimize risks in volatile markets".

RTS Standard sets a totally new standard for equity trading in Russia. It facilitates building up the liquidity of the Russian securities market, curbs counterparties’ risks and boosts development of the infrastructure. It aims to attract substantial international investor interest into the local equity market due to the applied global standards of trading.

RTS Standard offers CCP trading in anonymous order book without full advance depositing of assets and with settlement on T+4. The market hours are from 10.00 am to 11.50 pm MSK. The range of instruments includes top 22 liquid stocks of Russian issuers (CHMF, FEES, GAZP, GMKN, HYDR, LKOH, MAGN, MTSS, NLMK, NVTK, PLZL, PMTL, ROSN, SBERP, SBER, SNGSP, SNGS, TATN, TRNFP, URKA, URSI, VTBR).

RTS Standard also offers portfolio margining with trades made on FORTS, RTS’s derivatives section, which makes trading in all the instruments possible using a single, consolidated cash position.

Since March 2010 single stock futures are settled via the unified settlement technology implemented for FORTS and RTS Standard markets. This technology reduces expenses associated with realization of arbitrage strategies and decreases operational risks during delivery, which improves trading efficiency on both the stock and derivatives markets.

IC "Troika Dialog" is the leading independent investment company in the CIS markets. It was set up in 1991. The core lines of business include securities trading, investment banking, direct and venture investments, and personal investments and finance. In addition to its Moscow location, Troika Dialog has a presence in 20 Russian cities and 5 international offices, in New York, London, Kiev, Almaty and Nicosia. The company’s customer base includes front-rank local and global companies, financial institutions, government agencies and wealthy individuals.