index funds that trade like stocks on stock markets. Each share represents a proportion of ownership in each stock that makes up an index. iShares are a great way for smaller investors to get the diversification of 50 or more companies without having to buy each individual stock.
Exchange-Traded Funds of Barclays Global Investors that replaced and expanded a product line formerly known as WEBS (World Equity Benchmark Shares). Some 75 iSHARE portfolios are currently traded on the American Stock Exchange with two more trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Represented are 20 Standard & Poor's domestic and international stock indexes, 23 MSCI ( Morgan Stanley Capital International) indexes representing foreign country and regional markets, 15 Dow Jones industrial sectors indexes, 12 russell indices,5 Goldman Sachs specialized indexes, a NASDAQ biotechnology index, a Cohen & Steers real estate index, and a Lehman Aggregate ETF (AGG) fixed-income fund.
