HSBC is planning to expand its offering of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the coming months, the bank's head of ETF said, pointing to emerging market products with a global and regional focus. "We are still missing products on some very important indices (in this area)," Farley Thomas told Reuters on Monday, adding that HSBC planned to launch 5-8 new products with a focus on emerging markets by the end of the year.
So far, HSBC mostly offers ETFs on single emerging markets and Thomas said the bank was looking at products on Eastern Europe. "The first funds will probably be launched in June or July," he added. With $8.2 billion assets under management, HSBC is a smaller player in the global $1.4 trillion ETF business, ranking 17th, according to a study by market leader BlackRock. Exchange-traded funds are index funds listed on an exchange that can be traded just like regular stocks.