AN EXCHANGE-traded fund (ETF) based on the Iseq is being launched by a Chicago bank to allow US investors to trade the top 20 Irish stocks on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time.

Northern Trust said it was planning to launch its Iseq-traded fund in New York at the end of this month or early next month.

ETFs, like index-based mutual funds, are designed to follow the performance of a basket of equities. However, unlike mutual funds, whose shares are priced once a day after the end of each trading session, an ETF is listed on an exchange, where it is bought and sold like normal stocks.

Brian Healy, director of markets at the Irish Stock Exchange, said the exchange was working with Northern Trust on the Iseq 20 ETF, which was awaiting regulatory approval, but he hoped that it would not only be sold to retail, but also non-retail US investors.

The Irish-based traded fund will trade on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol, IQE, according to Northern Trust, which manages $4.1 trillion (€2.6 trillion) in financial assets.

"It is a way of trading or investing in the Irish market," said Steven Schoenfeld, chief investment offices at Northern Trust Global Investments in New York.

"It will extend the trading on Irish stocks to the US market and extend the Iseq's trading hours."

Mr Schoenfeld said the Iseq had been trying to attract more foreign investors and the ETF was a way of doing this. The Irish traded fund is one of 27 being developed by Northern Trust.

"There is a lot of interest in the US in Ireland and this will raise the visibility of Irish companies in the US," he said.