BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund platform iShares has launched five currency hedged equity ETFs on the London Stock Exchange, in a bid to respond to increasing investor demand for currency hedged equity exposure, the firm said in a statement.

The new products aim to enable investors to invest internationally and hedge currency exposure in one trade, without having to monitor and maintain a currency hedge. The new physically-backed funds bring the total number of iShares ETFs listed on the LSE to 94.

The launch of these funds demonstrates how exchange-traded funds, which have grown rapidly as a market in recent years, are being designed to capture increasingly sophisticated investment strategies beyond the traditional, and relatively simple, approach of tracking a broad market index such as the S&P 500.

The funds comprise: iShares MSCI Japan Monthly EUR Hedged, which will invest in approximately 330 stocks; iShares MSCI World Monthly EUR Hedged and iShares MSCI World Monthly GBP Hedged, which will both hedge 14 currencies and invest in approximately 900 stocks; iShares S&P500 Monthly GBP Hedged, S&P500 British Pound Hedged Index and iShares S&P500 Monthly EUR Hedged which will all invest in all 500 of the funds listed on the exchange, investing in approximately 900 stocks.

State Street Global Markets’ currency management team has been appointed to manage the currency hedge.

BlackRock had total assets under management of $3.121 trillion on 30 June 2010. iShares has 437 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide.