The thrill is gone.

BlackRock [profile] is trying to keep expenses down by ending its relationship with Dow Jones, IndexUniverse's David Nadig writes. The institutional name recognition for Dow Jones and Barclays indexes, just isn't the same as the Russell or MSCI Indexes.

These are the reasons behind BlackRock's choice to rebrand, Nadig writes. BlackRock changed the words "Index Fund" to "ETF" which appears to fix a messaging problem and bring their funds names into the larger world other ETFs operate in.

BlackRock states to IndexUniverse:

“One area of opportunity identified was to simplify our product messaging beginning with our fund names and investment objectives,” a representative for iShares told IndexUniverse.

Nadig goes on to say this is bad for investors because it means they'll have to look through the paperwork to determine which index the fund tracks instead of seeing the index name immediately.

The real question is, what will this mean for Dow Jones and Barclays indexes, now that the world's largest asset manager has essentially cut ties with their brands?

To read more, click here. 

Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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