WisdomTree Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Its First ETFs

TORONTO, ON --(Marketwired - June 23, 2016) - WisdomTree Investments, Inc. WETF, an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") and exchange-traded product ("ETP") sponsor and asset manager, today announces the 10th anniversary of the launch of its first 20 equity ETFs in the U.S.

Headquartered in New York and with more than $40 billion in global assets under management, WisdomTree has international offices in Japan, Europe and, most recently, Canada, which opened in April. WisdomTree Asset Management Canada, Inc. plans to introduce a range of Canadian ETFs in 2016. Its Canadian operations are led by Raj Lala, who was previously Executive Vice President, Retail Markets, at Fiera Capital.

A Decade of Excellence

Ten years ago in the summer of 2006, WisdomTree launched its first family of fundamentally weighted ETFs in the U.S., pioneering the concept of dividend-weighted ETFs through the listing of 20 funds in a single day. WisdomTree's launch was based on its original vision that weighting equity markets by dividends, rather than by market capitalization, would represent a significant evolution in indexing.

WisdomTree sought to create new broad-based indexes that adopted the best practices of index investing: broad representation, rules-based transparency and low turnover. At the same time, these indexes were constructed to introduce a measure of valuation into index weights in order to address the potential drawbacks of traditional indexes, which are vulnerable to bubbles over full market cycles. Rather than weighting each component based on its market value, WisdomTree's broad-based dividend indexes typically include all investable stocks(1) that pay dividends and then weight them annually based on a measure of relative value: the cash dividends each company pays as a percentage of the total amount of cash dividends paid by all the companies in that market.

These equity indexes would ultimately serve as the basis for WisdomTree's successful ETF platform today.

WisdomTree's Chief Investment Strategist, Luciano Siracusano, commented on the significance of WisdomTree's 10-year track records: "Passive investing has undoubtedly served investors well over the past 30 years. Numerous studies confirm that, over time, the vast majority of actively managed mutual funds have failed to outperform comparable cap-weighted indexes, after accounting for fees, expenses and transaction costs. The real time track records of our indexes in the market underscore that there is in fact room for improvement beyond traditional indexing to achieve better risk adjusted returns".

Leading ETF Industry Innovation

In addition to its groundbreaking Smart Beta ETFs, WisdomTree changed the competitive landscape through a novel, research-driven business model of self-indexing. By creating its own proprietary indexes and operating as both index developer and ETF sponsor, WisdomTree creates its own investor-focused intellectual property and remains at the forefront of investment innovation today. WisdomTree has grown from its initial family of 20 products in 2006 to 99 funds in the U.S.; covering domestic, international and global equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and alternative strategies. Most recently, WisdomTree launched a family of fundamentally weighted fixed income ETFs in the U.S., once again seeking to address a flaw in conventional indexing which, in the case of fixed income, assigns the most weight to the most indebted companies.

"Ten years ago, WisdomTree believed ETFs represented the future of asset management because of their investor-friendly characteristics; we introduced an important evolution in index construction through fundamental weighting and a novel business model of self-indexing which allowed WisdomTree to become one of the world's leading ETF sponsors. Today, ETFs are in fact a global phenomenon poised to overtake traditional mutual fund assets over time, and alternative index weighting schemes under the Smart Beta moniker are becoming widely accepted by individual and institutional investors alike. Not only was WisdomTree's early vision validated, our value proposition and competitive strategy position us incredibly well for the next decade and beyond," said WisdomTree CEO and President Jonathan Steinberg.

Mr. Steinberg added, "The future for both traditional Beta and Smart Beta ETFs across equities and fixed income remains bright as more individuals, financial advisors and institutions embrace a structure which promotes transparency, liquidity and a level playing field in financial markets. Continued investment innovations like currency hedging and liquid alternatives, in addition to new regulations encouraging transparency of fees and advice, will further contribute to growth of the ETF industry in the U.S. and in fast-growing ETF markets around the world. As WisdomTree expands in new asset classes and geographic markets, we are still executing on our original business plan: to develop innovative, thoughtful, and differentiated ETFs which serve the needs of investors."

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc., through its subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe and Japan (collectively, "WisdomTree"), is an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") and exchange-traded product ("ETP") sponsor and asset manager headquartered in New York. WisdomTree offers products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and alternative strategies.

WisdomTree® is the marketing name for WisdomTree Investments, Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide.

For Canadian investors only:

A preliminary prospectus containing important information relating to the units of the Canadian ETFs has been filed with the securities commissions or similar authorities in certain jurisdictions of Canada. The preliminary prospectus is still subject to completion or amendment. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from WisdomTree at the address, telephone number, website and e-mail address set forth below or downloaded at www.sedar.com. There will not be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy the units until a receipt for the final prospectus has been issued.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange traded funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Exchange-traded funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

(1) That meet WisdomTree's minimum market capitalization and liquidity thresholds.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Canada Media:
NATIONAL Public Relations
Scott Anderson / Jennifer Lee
+1.416.420.9909 / +1.416.848.1383
Canadapress@wisdomtree.com

U.S. Media:
WisdomTree Investments, Inc.
Jessica Zaloom / Melissa Chiles
+1.917.267.3735 / +1.917.267.3797
jzaloom@wisdomtree.com / mchiles@wisdomtree.com

Investor Relations:
WisdomTree Investments, Inc.
Stuart Bell
+1.917.267.3702
sbell@wisdomtree.com

Contact Information:
WisdomTree Asset Management Canada, Inc.
161 Bay Street, 27th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2S1
+1.416.304.9225 / +1.866.893.8733
canadainfo@wisdomtree.com