Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have seen a significant growth over the years, CFA Bahrain president Khalil Nooruddin said.

He was speaking at an event organised by CFA Bahrain and Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

Speakers from within Bahrain's investment and financial community, as well as from abroad, discussed a range of issues and opportunities associated with (ETFs).

More than 30 CFA Bahrain members were addressed by BGI managing director and global head of ETF research and implementation strategy Deborah Fuhr and iShares GCC regional business director Robert Broadwell.

iShares is the world's largest family of ETFs from Barclays Global Investors.

Within the current market, ETFs have become one of the popular investment tools in the investment banking industry, providing an investment vehicle which offers the ability to trade on commodities, stocks and bonds.

It is also a very attractive investment tool due to its low costs, tax efficiencies, and stock-like features.

'ETFs have became a very popular investment tool over the past few years and the ETF market has seen significant growth from $800 million in 1993 to $890.5 billion in 2009,' Nooruddin.

'As a leading society for investment professionals we have always supported a strong educational programme to the work that we do within the Kingdom.

'We believe that strong thought leadership and the promotion of these kinds of educational events are very important for the investment community in Bahrain and the region, in order to encourage and promote the development of the local capital market and its professional skills,' he said.

Broadwell said: 'At iShares we have seen an increased interest in ETFs in the region and have been concentrating on providing educational opportunities for investors and investment professionals alike to ensure that these useful products are utilised to their full potential in a portfolio.'

'iShares is committed to education and are pleased to partner with CFA Bahrain to help fulfill this mission.'-TradeArabia News Service