Deals & People October 11, 2010

Anthem Financial Services Hires Managing Partner

Tom Sokira joins northern New Jersey-based Anthem Financial Services' defined contribution consulting practice as managing partner.
Reported by

As part of the Retirement Plan Advisory Group, Sokira will have access to the group’s Scorecard system, in order to assist Anthem Financial Services’ clients with investment due diligence, plan design and benchmarking, and fiduciary best practices. Sokira also has experience in the rollover market and retirement income products, according to a press release.   

Sokira has been in the business for nearly 20 years and has worked at ADP Retirement Services and Morgan Stanley.   

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The Markets October 11, 2010

ETF Assets Increased $84B in September

U.S. ETF industry assets increased $84.8 billion (10.6%) in September, according to State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).
Reported by

According to SSgA data, gains in the Size and International categories accounted for the majority of the total September advance in ETF AUM. The Dividend/Fundamental category climbed 20.4%, or $4.1 billion.

Year to date, areas with significant positive asset growth are Commodities: up $16.4 billion, Fixed Income: up $33.1 billion, and Dividend/Fundamental: up $8.5 billion. Large Cap assets rose $25.8 billion, followed by Mid Cap, up $3.1 billion, State Street said.  

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Technology, Energy, and Materials each rose more than $1 billion in absolute terms. All 10 sectors gained for the month. In particular, Information Technology was up 12.1%, Industrials were up 11.4%, and Consumer Discretionary was up 11.1%.

Meanwhile, according to State Street, the top three managers in the U.S. ETF marketplace were BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, which collectively accounted for approximately 84% of the U.S.-listed ETF market.

The top three ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500 [SPY], iShares Russell 2000 [IWM], and PowerShares QQQ [QQQQ].

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