FRANKFURT, Germany (December 13, 2023) – MarketVector IndexesTM (“MarketVector”) announces the licensing of the MCM-Bluestar® Israel Bonds Index (MBILB) to Defiance ETFs. The firm today launched the Defiance Israel Bond ETF (NYSE Ticker: CHAI ), a first-of-its-kind fund that invests in Israeli government and corporate bonds, offering diversified exposure to the Israeli fixed-income market. The CHAI ETF will track the MCM-Bluestar® Israel Bonds Index.

The MCM-Bluestar® Israel Bonds Index (MBILB) tracks the performance of US Dollar and Israeli Shekel-denominated bonds issued by the Israeli government or Israeli corporations, based on  a methodology that was developed in partnership with Migdal Capital Markets ('MCM').

“We are proud to partner with Defiance to support the launch of their innovative and pioneering Israel Bond ETF,” said Steven Schoenfeld, CEO of MarketVector. “Tracking the MCM-BlueStar® Israel Bonds Index, we are confident that investors will gain diversified exposure to Israeli Government and Corporate bonds denominated in both US Dollars and Israeli Shekels. With more than 12 years of experience in managing Israel-focused indexes, MarketVector is uniquely qualified to benchmark the dynamic Israeli fixed income market,” he continued. 

The Index provides exposure to 35 bonds issued by the Government of Israel and related entities, as well as Israeli corporate issuers. The definition of an Israeli company is aligned with the methodology of the flagship BlueStar® Israel Global Equity Index (“BIGI”), which considers a range of factors including - but not limited to - country of incorporation and headquarters, geographic revenue and asset distribution, country of founding, and domicile of members of the executive team and board of directors.

The MBLIB index aims to maximize its exposure to Israeli Government Bonds and Corporate Bonds denominated in USD, but may also include ILS-denominated bonds to meet diversification requirements. Components are weighted by their market value with a maximum weight of 25% for sovereign debt, 7.5% per any single corporate issuer, and 5% for any single bond. The index is reviewed and rebalanced on a monthly basis.

For more information on the index, visit MarketVector’s index page. More information about the ETF can be found at israelbondetf.com. 

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