NASDAQ Global Funds, Inc has approved stock splits for the four exchange traded funds (ETFs) in The Basket of Listed Depositary Receipts (BLDRSSM ) Index Funds Trust. NASDAQ Global Funds, Inc has approved stock splits for the four exchange traded funds (ETFs) in The Basket of Listed Depositary Receipts (BLDRSSM ) Index Funds Trust.

NGF is the sponsor of Trust. The payment date for the stock splits will be 7 July 2006, payable to stockholders of record on June 22, 2006.

The board authorized holders of the BLDRS shares to receive additional BLDRS shares for each share they own in the following ratios:

• The BLDRS Asia 50 ADR Index Fund - Three for one
• The BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund - Three for one
• The BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund - Four for one
• The BLDRS Europe 100 ADR Index Fund - Three for one

'These stock splits will effectively extend the BLDRS products to a broader retail investment audience,' says John Jacobs, executive vice president of NASDAQ and CEO of NASDAQ Global Funds. 'Reducing the share price of these products will enable more individual investors to seek investment opportunities in developed and emerging markets, and in Asia and Europe. Because of the strong price performance of the BLDRS products, it was necessary to take this action for the benefit of retail investors.'

The BLDRS Asia 50 ADR Index Fund, a unit investment trust, seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The Bank of New York Asia 50 ADR Index, a capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of a basket of Asian market-based Depositary Receipts.

The BLDRS Developed Markets 100 ADR Index Fund, a unit investment trust, seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The Bank of New York Developed Markets 100 ADR Index, a capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of a basket of developed market-based Depositary Receipts.

The BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund, a unit investment trust, seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The Bank of New York Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index, a capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of a basket of emerging market-based Depositary Receipts.

The BLDRS Europe 100 ADR Index Fund, a unit investment trust, seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The Bank of New York Europe 100 ADR Index, a capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of a basket of European market-based Depositary Receipts.