OREANDA-NEWS. There are 19 ETFs listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are now classified as non-Specified Investment Products (SIPs), otherwise referred to as Excluded Investment Products (EIPs). An EIP ETF generally invests in a basket of stocks that make up the index it is designed to track, rather than a derivative product that derives its value from the index. EIPs can be bought and sold by individual investors without having to complete a Customer Assessment Review, or take the online SIP test.
These ETFs have traded an average of $13 million a day in the month thus far. This represents a year-on-year growth of 67%. The five most active ETFs among the 19 in the month thus far by turnover were the iShares MSCI India Index ETF, SPDR® Gold Shares, SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF, ABF Singapore Bond Index ETF, iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF. 

The five ETFS that saw the biggest percentage growth in turnover in August 2015 to date from the month of August 2014 were the ABF Singapore Bond Index ETF, iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF, db x-trackers MSCI Philippines IM Index UCITS ETF (DR), db x-trackers MSCI Korea UCITS Index ETF (DR) and the db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR). The five ETFS that saw the biggest growth in absolute turnover in August 2015 to date from the month of August 2014 were the SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF, SPDR® Gold Shares, ABF Singapore Bond Index ETF, iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF and the iShares MSCI India Index ETF.

Stock Code ETF Name Aug-15 Turnover Aug-14 Turnover 12 months total return* Aug MTD total return*
I98 iShares MSCI India Index ETF 3,586,987.72 3,519,099.98 -8.06 -8.3
O87 SPDR® Gold Shares 3,218,421.58 2,309,787.15 -12.13 4.87
ES3 SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF 2,992,982.50 641,199.05 -7.78 -7.1
A35 ABF Singapore Bond Index ETF 439,354.12 16,831.93 1.01 -0.26
HD8 db x-trackers FTSE China 50 UCITS ETF (DR) 353,310.09 210,147.46 -10.02 -10.93
O9P iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF 351,632.10 113,301.39 0.25 -1.78
G3B Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF 320,944.44 102,308.05 -8.23 -6.73
IH2 db x-trackers MSCI Korea UCITS Index ETF (DR) 203,377.24 40,538.04 -27.31 -5.56
M62 CIMB FTSE ASEAN40 ETF 204,887.82 122,625.09 -24.48 -11.42
LG7 db x-trackers MSCI Thailand Index UCITS ETF (DR) 192,634.38 145,899.69 -20.06 -6.05
N6M iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF 209,207.72 119,934.46 1.78 -0.96
LG9 db x-trackers MSCI China Index UCITS ETF (DR) 154,229.33 36,420.28 -10.82 -11.93
HD7 db x-trackers MSCI Taiwan Index UCITS ETF (DR) 135,420.77 92,712.69 -18.13 -9.14
J0O db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR) 123,711.56 25,184.95 -49.91 -10.76
N2E db x-trackers MSCI Philippines IM Index UCITS ETF (DR) 83,956.48 17,294.33 -6.52 -7.96
J0P db x-trackers MSCI World Index UCITS ETF 24,208.88 10,756.60 -3.05 -5.92
P5P CIMB S&P Ethical Asia Pacific Dividend ETF 22,304.54 10,073.29 -19.38 -10.03
J0Q db x-trackers MSCI Pacific Ex Japan Index UCITS ETF (DR) 2,358.48 36,327.72 -21.38 -9.92
LG6 db x-trackers MSCI Malaysia Index UCITS ETF (DR) 796.53 2,951.21 -35.22 -15.5

Two of the five fixed income-tracking EIP ETFs - the  iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF and the iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF will both go ex-dividend on 1 September. iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF will distribute US$0.10 per unit and the iShares Barclays USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF will distribute US$0.17 per unit. Both ETFs have a schedule of paying dividends quarterly.

Just like the indices they track, the biggest risk ETF investors face is market risk; that is, investors can buy units today and be faced with a lower unit price tomorrow. There are other risks associated with ETFs that are unique to the type of ETF. The rule of thumb is that if the ETF is an EIP, it implies the ETF is less complex and there are fewer unique risks than those involving an ETF categorised as an SIP. For a comprehensive explanation on ETFs, please visit sgx.com/ETF.