Barclays to Move ETFs to NYSE, Archipelago

Barclays, the biggest manager of exchange-traded funds, said Wednesday that it would move the listing of all but one of its funds to the New York Stock Exchange and the electronic Archipelago Exchange from the American Stock Exchange.

The change bolsters the NYSE’s expansion beyond common stock trading and marks a setback for Amex, which listed the first ETF in 1993.

Barclays will move 61 of its funds, named iShares, to the NYSE and an additional 20 to Archipelago, which agreed to be acquired by the NYSE in April. Only the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology index fund will remain on Amex.

The shift will occur in phases this year and next.

Exchange-traded funds are portfolios of stocks that can be bought or sold all day long. They track major market indexes and industry sector indexes and have become a big hit with big and small investors alike.

“We took stock of where we thought the best venue for listing iShares was at this scale and as the scale grows,” said Lee Kranefuss, chief executive of Barclays’ iShares funds in San Francisco.

“It’s a big blow for the Amex,” said Leo Guzman, who heads Guzman & Co., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based brokerage.

Cliff Weber, senior vice president of Amex’s ETF marketplace, said that despite the switch by Barclays, the exchange was continuing to expand its lineup of ETFs offered by other financial firms.