Barclays Global Investors (BGI) launched a new series of exchange traded funds (ETFs) covering European stocks, four months before rival State Street brings its own European funds to London.

A BGI subsidiary, iShares, will offer four pan-European exchange traded funds based on Bloomberg indices, from February 12. They will track the technology, pharmaceutical, telecoms and financial industries. This follows BGI's launch in December of its first new exchange traded fund that tracks continental European stocks, having already established UK-focused exchange traded funds earlier in the year. On both occasions it linked up with a rival index provider FTSE.