Van Eck Pares Expense Cap for Brazil Small-Cap ETF

Van Eck, the sixth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, announced it is lowering the expense cap on the Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF BRF to 59 basis points from 62 basis points, adding that the firm expects investors will pay lower fees as a result. The new expense cap will be in effect until at least May 1, 2012. This is the second time since BRF made its debut in May 2009 that the ETF's expenses have been capped. The Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF was the first ETF to focus solely on exposure to Brazilian small-caps. BRF faces direct competition in the form of the iShares MSCI Small Cap Index Fund EWZS, which is a year old. EWZS has an expense ratio of 0.65% and assets under management of about $43.5 million. That compares to almost $616 million in AUM for BRF. “We're very pleased to announce this reduction in BRF's expense cap,” said Jan van Eck, Principal at Van Eck Global, in a statement. “Keeping shareholder costs down is a priority for us, and as opportunities like this present themselves, we will continue to look for ways to absorb operating expenses going forward.” Van Eck also lowered expenses on the Market Vectors Indonesia ETF IDX and the Market Vectors Poland ETF PLND in January.