WisdomTree debuts emerging-markets ETFs

WisdomTree Trust will launch a new dividend-weighted exchange traded fund tomorrow on the New York Stock Exchange. The ETF is designed to track the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High-Yielding Equity Index—a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of high dividend-yielding stocks selected from 19 emerging market nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Companies weighted in the index are based on annual cash dividends paid. The ETF will trade under the ticker symbol "DEM" and carries an expense ratio of 0.63%. As of June 30, Emerging Markets High-Yielding Equity Index has average one-year, five-year and 10-year returns of 51.2%, 35.1% and 15.2%, respectively-beating out the MSCI Emerging Markets Index during each period. New York-based WisdomTree, which created the first family of fundamentally weighted indexes and ETFs, had more than $4 billion in assets under management as of July 2007.