ISHARES S&P INDIA NIFTY 50 INDEX FUND $23.61 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that aims to track the S&P CNX Nifty Index, which represents the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities.
The fund’s top holdings are ITC Ltd. (conglomerate), 9.3%; Infosys Technologies (software), 7.6%; Housing Development Finance, 7.1%; Reliance Industries Ltd. (conglomerate), 7.0%; ICICI Bank, 6.7%; HDFC Bank, 6.4%; Tata Consultancy Services (information technology), 4.4%; Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (conglomerate), 4.1%; Oil & Natural Gas Corp., 3.0%; and State Bank of India, 3.0%.
The fund’s industry breakdown includes Banks, 20.4%; Computers, 14.5%; Cigarettes, 9.3%; Refineries, 7.5%; Housing, 7.1%; Pharmaceuticals, 5.3%; Engineering, 4.1%; Oil Exploration and Production, 3.9%; Automobiles, 3.1%; and Utilities, 2.8%; The ETF has a 0.92% expense ratio.
India’s economy slowed to a 5.1% growth rate in 2012 from 6.9% in 2011. But growth could rebound to over 6.5% this year and more than 7.2% in 2014.
iShares S&P India is a buy for safety-conscious investors who are willing to accept some risk.
