Europe celebrates 10 years of ETFs

On 11 April 2000, the first two ETFs in Europe were listed on the Xetra platform. The two LDRS funds, issued by Merrill Lynch, track the Eurostoxx 50 and Stoxx 50 indices. These funds were later acquired by iShares and rebranded in 2003. Shortly following this, iShares listed its FTSE 100 ETF on the London Stock Exchange on 28 April. Stoxx chief executive officer Hartmut Graf says: "We believe that Stoxx has notably contributed to the growth of the ETF market in Europe with the constant development of innovative and sophisticated index concepts, which are the basis for successful ETFs...