NZX announced this week it was launching nine new ETFs. It has 10 already operating.

The new ETFs invest in Vanguard ETFs in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific and emerging markets.

NZX head of funds management Aaron Jenkins said Smartshares were a low-cost way for New Zealand investors to gain exposure to international equities, with the benefit of dividends paid in New Zealand dollars.

Smartshares ETFs are listed funds that aim to provide a return to unitholders that closely matches the return on a specific equity market index or predefined group of shares. Each new ETF will invest exclusively in a different underlying fund currently offered by the Vanguard Group,  which seeks to track a benchmark index.

An NZX spokeswoman said direct investments in Smartshares increased in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period the year before by more than 400%.

“We are also seeing an increasing number of investors taking advantage of the regular savings plan option, and strong interest from both retail investors and advisers in the dividend funds in particular, as investors seek out yield.”

She said the new global ETFs should appeal to a broad investor base including small retail investors, financial advisers who are looking for a simple and efficient way of giving their clients access to global equities, high net worth individuals and small institutional investors such as charities and family trusts.

“Investors can avoid dealing with dividends in foreign currencies and administering foreign exchange transactions, and do not have to worry about preparing foreign tax filings.  All of these new funds also enjoy the features of our existing funds – low minimum holding and application amounts, regular savings plan from as little as $50 invested a month, and the PIE status of the funds which limits tax paid on distributions to 28%.”

She said the NZ Top 50 Fund was the fastest-growing ETF and was popular with advisers as the benchmark for the New Zealand market.

"Many New Zealand brokers and advisers use ETFs within their client portfolios, whether this is our local Smartshares offering or foreign listed ETFs. The introduction of the Sector and Dividend ETFs have added to the options advisers and brokers now have when constructing a client’s portfolio.”