EQM Indexes Launches Emerging Markets FinTech Index

New index tracks emerging and frontier market companies with significant exposure to financial technology solutions and applications

San Diego-based index development firm EQM Indexes LLC launched a new index, the EQM Emerging Markets FinTech Index (EMFINQ), providing exposure to public companies in emerging markets and frontier markets deriving significant revenue from financial technology (FinTech) solutions and applications.

According to the World Bank, 1.6 billion people are “unbanked” globally.¹ Emerging and frontier markets have provided fertile ground for FinTech solutions, disrupting traditional financial service and banking models. Innovations in digital forms of payment, banking, lending, and financial services, have leveraged FinTech to address the needs of previously unbanked and underserved populations transitioning to consumer-driven economies.

As Jane Edmondson, EQM Indexes Co-Founder and CEO, explains, “Prior to the pandemic, digital infrastructure in emerging and frontier markets had lagged behind those of developed nations. But thanks to pandemic-driven consumer needs and buying habits, digital disruption has accelerated and is fueling rapid innovation in FinTech.”

Supported by favorable demographics, with a young, tech-savvy population armed with smartphones but without bank accounts, emerging and frontier market economies are poised and ready for innovative FinTech applications solutions in:

• Payments;
• Banking;
• Lending & Credit;
• Insurance;
• Investment & Trading;
• and Digital Assets (digital wallets, mining, exchanges platforms, etc.).

The Index will provide investors with exposure to companies not easily accessible to U.S. investors, including public companies domiciled in India, Africa, and Latin America, that are leading the charge in FinTech innovation, deriving more than 50 percent of their revenues from FinTech solutions and/or applications.

The Index has been licensed to be tracked by an exchange traded fund (ETF) expected to be approved in early February. For additional information on the index, its methodology and components, click here.

EQM Indexes

EQM Indexes LLC is a woman-owned firm dedicated to creating and supporting innovative indexes that track growth industries and emerging investment themes. Co-founded by Jane Edmondson, a former Institutional Portfolio Manager with nearly 30 years in the investment industry, our index design expertise spans a wide range of asset classes and financial instruments. We partner with issuers and work jointly with other index firms to provide benchmarks for Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), and other similar products. EQM Indexes LLC also assists firms on a fee basis to design and implement their index ideas.

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¹ Global Finance, World’s Most Unbanked Countries 2021, February 17, 2021.

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