A 5349
P&S 4919
November 6, 2001 

TO: ALL PARTICIPANTS

ATTENTION: MANAGING PARTNER / OFFICER, OPERATIONS PARTNER / OFFICER, MANAGER P&s DEPARTMENT, MANAGER DATA PROCESSING DEPARTMENT

SUBJECT: NSCC WILL INCLUDE SEVEN NEW FOREIGN ISHARESSM IN ITS FOREIGN INDEX SECURITY SYSTEM1

The National Securities Clearing Corporation will include seven new iShares in its foreign index security processing system, which will trade on the American Stock Exchange. iShares securities represent ownership in open-ended investment companies registered under the 1940 Act established to accumulate and hold portfolios of common stocks intended to track the price performance and dividend yield of various well-known indices2. Clearing and trading information pertinent to the seven foreign iShares follows:

Index Share Name

Trading Symbol

CUSIP

First Trading Date3

iShares S&P Global Consumer Staples Sector Index Fund

IXA

464287358

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund

IXC

464287341

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Financials Sector Index Fund

IXG

464287333

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Healthcare Sector Index Fund

IXJ

464287325

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Information Technology Sector Index Fund

IXN

464287291

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Telecommunications Sector Index Fund

IXP

464287275

November 16, 2001

iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund

IXS

464287267

November 16, 2001

 

NOTE: As an accommodation to participants, NSCC will add the seven new foreign iShares portfolio to its Foreign Portfolio Composition File (PCF) on or about Tuesday, November 6, 2001. This file also contains other international indexes.

Unlike domestic index securities, the seven new iShares include foreign stocks that do not clear and settle through the NSCC Continuous Net Settlement System (CNS) or the NSCC Balance Order Accounting Settlement system. Consequently, NSCC will not accept locked-in create or redeem instructions for the seven new iShares, will not burst them into their underlying components and will not guarantee their cash amounts.

Participants will create the new foreign iShares by delivering the appropriate number of the index’s underlying stock shares to the Transfer Agent / Custodian through foreign custodians in the home country where the component stocks are domiciled. The seven new iShares security themselves will settle via NSCC’s Continuous Net Settlement (CNS) system in a conventional manner, like any domestic stock. The Transfer Agent and Custodian for iShares is Investors Bank and Trust.

In order to create iShares, an NSCC participant must enter into a standardized authorized participant agreement with the Transfer Agent / Custodian and Distributor. The authorized participant (AP) may then place a creation order with the Distributor. The Distributor will instruct the AP as to the procedures for effecting the clearance and settlement of the foreign ordinary stocks in the home country where the component stocks are domiciled. The Distributor for the new foreign iShares is SEI Investments Inc. NSCC does not participate in this overseas settlement process. Consequently, there is no foreign counterpart to the Domestic Index Instruction Detail Report.

Useful Information:

If you have additional questions, please contact Participant Services at 212-855-4155, email the undersigned at estaloff@dtcc.com or email Vincent McDevitt at vmcdevit@dtcc.com.

 

Elena Staloff
Director, DTCC Product
Marketing & Development

1 This notice is available on the worldwide web at URL: http://www.nscc.com/import/.

2 iShares is a service mark of BGI, Barclays Global Investors.

3 For an exact first trade date call AMEX at 1-800-THEAMEX.