Microcap Index & ETF

With the market's smallest stocks outperforming in recent years, coming
out of a recession, new interest on microcap stocks has surfaced among
investors of all kind. ..And at least 3 benchmark providers came up with
brand-new indexes seeking to capitalize on the popularity and strong
performance of microcap stocks.

In late 2004, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) introduced a
microcap index targeting the bottom 1.5% of the U.S. stock market. MSCI
is best known for its international stock indexes. It has made inroads in
the U.S. market after index-fund giant Vanguard Group switched over to
MSCI benchmarks for several of its passively run portfolios starting in
2003.

On June 24th, Russell Investment Group, which calculates the small-cap
Russell 2000 (RUT) and other widely followed indexes, launched a
microcap benchmark in conjunction with its annual index reconstitution.
Barclays Global Investors has already filed a registration statement with
the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Exchange Traded Fund
(ETF) tied to the new Russell Microcap Index.

In the following week, on June 27th, Dow Jones Indexes, an unit of Dow
Jones & Co. (DJ) launched an index of 281 microcap stocks listed at the
New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq
Stock Market. The benchmark has been licensed to First Trust Advisors
as the basis for a future exchange-traded fund.

So, it is time to wait for these microcap ETFs to hit the market...