Barclays Global Investors is out with yet another specialized ETF. The provider's iShares Russell Microcap Index Fund began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, and will probably be followed by at least a few competitors in the near future.

Barclays' fund will be based on a subset of the Russell Microcap Index, which is in turn made up of the smallest 2,000 companies. BGI's underlying index for the fund will be made up of companies with market capitalization from $50 million to $550 million.

The fund's expense ratio is 60 basis points.

"The iShares Russell Microcap Index Fund will provide broader microcap exposure and greater tax efficiency at a lesser cost than most indexed and actively managed microcap products currently available in the marketplace," said Patrick O'Connor, a BGI portfolio manager.

ETF upstart Powershares' own micro-cap ETF is expected to start trading on August 18 on the American Stock Exchange. Dow Jones has also created a new micro-cap index that was licensed by First Trust Advisors, reports MarketWatch.  

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