Good Grief: Greece ETF Close to Debut

Value hunters and bearish traders alike can probably delight in news that the first-ever Greece-specific ETF will make its debut on Thursday. Credit to Global X for showing the gumption to bring the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF

to market. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF will track the 20 largest Athens-listed companies as ranked by market value. While Greece has been arguably conspicuous by its absence from the ETF universe, especially given the country's tenuous economic and political situation over the past 18-24 months, more than half of the Euro Zone's 17 members including Greece do not have an ETF tracking them. For example, there is no Portugal-specific ETF either, but Global X filed plans earlier this year to take care of that the no Portugal ETF problem. On the bright side, GREK may not be the easiest short on the block. Greek stocks have already fallen so much that shorting them here is far riskier than it was even six months ago. Assuming GREK doesn't become a mecca for short-sellers, it could prove adept at drawing assets from longer-term investors that are happy to park some cash in the ETF betting on a potential rebound in Greek equities. If that scenario plays out, GREK might just be able to attract enough assets under management to surprise some of its naysayers, of which there's likely to be a few.