Marshall Wace launches first equity-neutral ETF

Marshall Wace LLP, the asset manager, has launched the first equity market-neutral Exchange Traded Fund.

MW TOPS Global Alpha will give investors a unique combination of access to a proven alpha stream, daily liquidity, targeted low volatility and the ability to deal at NAV in a
UCITS-compliant security. It is the first ETF targeting an absolute return from a single investment strategy and the first ETF in Europe to be run by a dedicated alternative asset manager.

The fund will track the performance of the MW TOPS Global Alpha IndexSM, which itself will be based on a basket of Marshall Wace’s globally-diversified TOPS investment strategies.

The basket will consist of a minimum of six diversified regional TOPS sub-components comprising predominantly large-cap equities and equity-related securities in the major global equity indices. The underlying holdings are extremely liquid and easy to price. This makes them especially well suited to the liquidity requirements of an ETF.

MW TOPS Global Alpha will be listed and tradable on the London Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The prospectus has been approved by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority and marketing will begin on January 18th, 2010. Trading in the ETF is expected to begin in late February or early March.

Ian Wace, chief executive of Marshall Wace LLP, said: “We are very excited about this new product, which represents another first for Marshall Wace and continues our record for innovation and leadership.

“The structural advantages of the listed ETF allow a wide range of investors including asset allocators, traditional and long-only investors and corporate treasuries to capture an absolute return stream from a UCITS-compliant security, without the volatility normally associated with equity market investment."