Although there is growing tension between Russia and the European Union as well as the U.S. government, the first ETF to track Russia stocks has made its way to Wall Street.
Van Eck Global has introduced the Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX), which is based on a basket of 30 Russian equities, including five New York-listed ADRs, 19 London GDRs and six Russian ordinaries.
The fund is the first single-country ETF to exclusively track the performance of Russian stocks. According to the prospectus, it has an expense ratio of 0.69 percent.
Russia's seeming return to its old domineering behavior has unnerved some investors. Since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000, Russia has become stronger, and he seems intent on reinforcing Russia's strength even if it means coming into conflict with Western interests. As a result, some nations charge that Russia should be blocked from acceptance in the World Trade Organization.
