ProFunds Launches Four International Funds

Index-oriented ProFund Advisors has added four new international equity funds.

"Mutual fund investors have come to realize the benefits of adding an international component to a portfolio," said Michael L. Sapir, chairman and CEO of the Bethesda, Md.-based company.

Two of the new products focus on developed markets, while the other two focus on emerging markets.

"The new funds make implementing more sophisticated strategies like gaining magnified exposure or shorting foreign markets as simple as buying a mutual fund," Sapir said.

The new UltraInternational ProFund aims to perform at 200%, before fees, of the MSCI EAFE index, which follows Europe, Australasia and the Far East and currently includes 21 developed countries. 

The UltraShort International ProFund would do the opposite, doubling the inverse performance of the index on a daily basis, not accounting for fees or expenses.

The UltraEmerging Markets ProFund strives to outperform the daily returns of the Bank of New York Emerging Markets 50 ADR index, which tracks companies listed on exchanges in emerging countries and that have Depository Receipts on a U.S. Exchange or the Nasdaq. The index presently includes companies in Brazil, Korea, Mexico, China, India, South Africa, Indonesia, and Argentina, among others.

The goal of the UltraShort Emerging Markets ProFund would be to double the inverse of the daily performance of the Bank of New York-managed index.

The four funds bring the company's total international offerings to seven.

ProFunds allows investors to trade as they please without restriction, "so they can adjust that exposure as they see fit," said Sapir.