MSCI added mostly tech-oriented names: 58.com, Alibaba, Baidu, Ctrip.com, JD.com, NetEase, New Oriental Education, Qihoo 360 Technology, Qunar, SouFun Holdings, TAL Education, VipShop, Youku Tudou and YY.
All changes will be implemented as of the close of Nov. 30. MSCI said it will first add the foreign-listed companies at half their free float-adjusted market cap, and add the remaining market capitalization at the May 2016 semiannual index review.
MSCI said about $1.6 trillion in total active and passive funds is benchmarked to MSCI's emerging market index, for which the most popular ETF is the iShares' EEM.
Funds that track the MSCI indexes will need to reallocate assets to reflect Thursday's decision. As a result of the inclusion of the U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, Ahern estimates $70 billion could flow into the underlying securities.
Stocks listed in mainland China, known as A-shares, are under review for inclusion in the index.