FinanceMalta, the public-private partnership set up to promote Malta’s International Financial Centre, is to hold an educational clinic on ‘Developments in the Exchange Traded Funds Market & the future of the Malta Stock Exchange’ on November 17 starting at 4.00pm. The 90-minute event will have 2 primary speakers, Eileen Muscat, CEO of the Malta Stock Exchange, and Irish expert, economist Susan Hayes.

According to BlackRock, assets under management in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) should reach US$2 trillion globally by the end of 2012. The inflows, strategy, exposure and regulation of this specific type of fund is evolving and developing all the time. It is therefore important for practitioners and their advisers to be aware of developments in the “fastest growing financial product in the world”, so that Malta’s International Financial Centre can continue to stay ahead of the trend in offering a high value-added jurisdiction.

The recent rapid growth and innovation in the market for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) is a development that FinanceMalta believes warrants increased attention by regulatory and supervisory authorities, as well as by the ETF industry, including providers, market-makers and investors. This upcoming FinanceMalta ‘clinic’ highlights a number of recent developments that call for such attention.

Susan Hayes offers an international edge to the discussion by sharing insights from Dublin’s IFSC as well as looking through fresh eyes at Malta’s offering. In order to attract new products and service them while continuing to grow as a high-value financial jurisdiction, Malta must evolve its legal, regulatory and technical infrastructure. Says Ms. Hayes, “ETF’s are investment vehicles that track an index (e.g. S&P 500), trade continuously on exchanges—in contrast with traditional mutual funds which are valued only once a day—and are redeemable daily. Thus, their main advantage is to combine the low-cost diversification benefits of index-linked and basket products with the high liquidity and tradability of individual stocks.

In normal times, plain-vanilla ETF’s can also offer an additional source of liquidity for the underlying markets in which they trade.”

Malta Stock Exchange CEO, Eileen Muscat, will give an overview of the development of the capital market, how this has developed throughout its 20 year operating history and current developments in line with its vision and strategy for the future. Ms. Muscat contends that Malta is well placed to exploit market opportunities, “A well-educated workforce provides expertise, experience, flexibility and the ability to provide services at every part of the chain of financial service needs – from specialists in particular fields, lawyers, accountants, auditors and other experts who can provide support and guidance to users of and operators within our jurisdiction.

A work force with a good educational background means that users and operators can invest in such a work force as it will give a good return and furthermore, will continue to develop to the benefit of those who employ them. By getting up-to-speed on the ETF markets we will be better placed to broaden the scope of our specialized services.”

Malta’s growing reputation as an international finance centre is a clear result of providing international markets with a global standard of regulation and professional services coupled with high-quality information that aims to refresh the perceptions decision makers have of Malta’s International Finance Centre to keep business influencers updated with better and more in-depth information on how Malta can complement their global operations.

Malta’s efforts to promote itself internationally as a leading business location and dynamic financial services centre are part of Government’s “Vision 2015”. Malta’s ability to attract FDI in financial services is evident in the exponential growth of funds based on the Islands which now number almost 500. The value of their assets under management has grown to just under €8 billion and this will rise further in line with the on-going development of the financial centre, as the domicile offers a high quality location for the delivery of these services.

To register for FinanceMalta’s ‘Developments in the Exchange Traded Funds Market & the future of the Malta Stock Exchange’ clinic kindly visit www.financemalta.org .