Simmons & Simmons has advised new client Rafferty on a $3.5bn (£2.3bn) Euronext listing.

Simmons advised the US investment firm and its investment vehicle Direxion Shares EFT Trust on its first foray into the European market – the listing of six of its 34 active exchange traded funds (EFT) on Euronext Amsterdam.

The deal marks Europe's first so-called 'bull and bear' ETF listing, a concept which is more common in the US, but is a first on the Euronext. The leveraged funds track the daily performance or the inverse daily performance of the index.

The company chose to list in Amsterdam because the Dutch financial regulator has put in place a procedural route to allow the registration of US funds supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The listing also enables the ETF's shares to be traded in Paris and Brussels with the Euronext's new single order book.

The Simmons team advising Rafferty was led by Paris-based finance partner Ian Rogers, who chairs the firm's international exchange traded funds group, alongside lawyers from the firm's Amsterdam office.

Rafferty and Direxion's regular overseas adviser is US firm K&L Gates, but Simmons was the only law firm with a significant involvement on the Euronext listing.

Rogers commented: "We were very happy to advise on this deal, which was a first for this client and a very interesting and groundbreaking cross-listing. It is our understanding that it was the first of several similar listings that Direxion plans to make in Europe."