The London Stock Exchange has launched a new trading service for exchange-traded funds. It offers the choice of buying ETFs in US dollars w...

The London Stock Exchange has launched a new trading service for exchange-traded funds. It offers the choice of buying ETFs in US dollars where that is the underlying currency of the index. This will give dollar-based investors a tax-efficient alternative to buying ETFs in the US markets, without the currency risk associated with a sterling-priced ETF. The new service will enable ETFs to be traded simultaneously in both dollars and the current sterling or euro denomination. Martin Graham, director of markets at the LSE, said: "Managers of US dollar denominated funds who want to avoid currency risk and foreign exchange costs until now had little option but to buy ETFs in the American markets, which can be tax inefficient for overseas investors. Our new multicurrency trading platform means these investors now have the choice of buying ETFs in dollars on the London Stock Exchange during European trading hours." The 12 ETFs in the scheme are iShares S&P 500, iShares MSCI North America, iShares MSCI World, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets, iShares MSCI Eastern Europe, iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan, iShares MSCI Brazil, iShares MSCI Korea, iShares MSCI Taiwan, iShares Xinhua/China 25, iShares US Treasury Bond 1-3, iShares DJ Asia / Pacific Select Dividend.