Amex Trades Options on iShares Real Estate Fund

The American Stock Exchange Monday began trading options on the underlying shares of Barclay’s iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund.

The options opened with strike prices ranging from $89 to $95 and position limits of 13,500 contracts, Amex said. The options will trade on the February expiration cycle, with initial expirations in June, July, August and November. Bear Hunter Structured Products, a subsidiary of New York’s Bear Wagner, will serve as the specialist for the newly listed options.

The fund, like most exchange-traded funds, is similar to an index-based mutual fund, except it trades like an individual stock. It tracks the real estate investment trust, or REIT, sector, and is listed under the ticker symbol ICF.

The fund’s primary objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index. Its portfolio is broadly diversified by both geographic region and property type and is designed to provide a total investment return from both current income and the potential for capital appreciation.

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