State Street adds two currency-hedged ETFs as competition heats up

State Street Corp., the firm that opened the first U.S. exchange-traded fund in 1993, added two currency-hedged ETFs as it competes with similar offerings from rivals including WisdomTree Investments Inc. The SPDR MSCI International Real Estate Currency Hedged ETF tracks stocks involved in the ownership, development and management of core properties while protecting against foreign-currency movements, the Boston-based firm said Tuesday in a statement. The SPDR S&P International Dividend Currency Hedged ETF follows the 100 highest dividend-yielding common stocks and American depositary receipts in the S&P Global BMI Ex-U.S. Index while minimizing exposure to currency fluctuations. State Street, whose new offerings debuted Tuesday on the NYSE Arca, follows firms such as BlackRock Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and WisdomTree in rolling out currency-hedged offerings. It started trading its first such ETF in June, tracking the performance of large stocks in the euro region. State Street, one of the largest custody banks, has been seeking to expand its asset-management business after losing ETF market share to BlackRock and Vanguard Group, the two biggest providers. “Recent flow trends have highlighted continued investor interest in currency-hedged ETFs to help manage currency volatility,” James Ross, executive vice president and global head of SPDR Exchange Traded Funds at State Street Global Advisors, said in the statement. State Street's asset-management unit oversaw $2.4 trillion as of June 30, according to the statement.