Pimco Aussie Bond ETF to Debut Tuesday

Pimco, the firm behind the world's largest bond fund, plans to introduce the Pimco Australia Bond Index Fund ETF (NYSE: AUD) on Tuesday Nov. 1, 2011. With an expense ratio of 0.45%, the new ETF will track the BofA Merrill Lynch Diversified Australia Bond Index. As of Sept. 30, 2011, the index was home to over 210 securities denominated in Australian dollars and issued in the local market. To be included in the index, all securities must have investment grade ratings. To qualify for inclusion in the index, Australian sovereign debt must have AUD 1 billion outstanding and other issues must have at least AUD 500 million outstanding. The Pimco Australia Bond Index ETF will compete directly with another ETF that recently made its debut, the WisdomTree Australia & New Zealand Debt Fund (NYSE: AUNZ), which came to market last week.AUNZ replaced the old New Zealand dollar ETF and tracks a basket of debt securities denominated in Australian or New Zealand Dollars. The WisdomTree offering also has an expense ratio of 0.45% and features a distribution ield of 5.62%. AUNZ has attracted $26.6 million in AUM.California-based Pimco had 14 ETFs with $3.65 billion in AUM at the end of September, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.