Four New iShares Are Just Following The Trend
June 26, 2008

SAN DIEGO - (ETFguide.com) - The alternative energy market is on fire and Barclays Global obviously does not want to be left behind. BCI has launched four new ETFs on Wednesday, three of which are focusing on alternative energy:

iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund (Ticker: ICLN)

iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index Fund (Ticker: NUCL)

iShares S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index Fund (Ticker: WOOD)

iShares FTSE China Index Fund (Ticker: FCHI)
(click on the ticker symbol for more detailed information)

None of the alternative energy ETFs is a “first”. PowerShares with their two WilderHill Portfolios (Ticker: PBW & PUW) beat them to the punch in the clean energy department.

The Market Vectors Nuclear ETF (Ticker: NLR) and the PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio (Ticker: PKN) offered exposure to this sector long before the iShares Nuclear ETF arrived on the scene.

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Knock on wood for Claymore, who launched the Global Timber ETF (Ticker: CUT) back in November of 2007.

BGIs competitive advantage over the existing ETFs is lower cost and a well-known underlying S&P index.

The iShares FTSE China Index Fund (Ticker: FCHI) is a broader based version of their popular iShares FTSE/Xinhua China (Ticker: FXI) Fund. The new FCHI includes more mid-and large caps for a total of 90 holdings compared to FXIs 25.