Products December 19, 2013

Invesco Overhauls Some ETFs

Invesco PowerShares, a provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), will change the names and underlying indexes of 10 ETFs.
Reported by

Four other funds in the Invesco ETF product line—together representing less than 1% of the firm’s total assets—will be closed, according to a statement from Invesco.

Dan Draper, managing director of global ETFs, says the move is a result of regular evaluation of the firm’s funds.

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“We regularly evaluate our ETF product offerings using numerous factors including investment results, how investors may utilize them in portfolios and length of time in the market, among others,” Draper says.

Invesco’s board of trustees approved the changes on December 17. They are slated to take effect February 19, 2014, meaning the final trading day for the closing funds will be February 18, 2014.

Here’s a rundown of the 10 funds getting new names:

  • PowerShares Dynamic OTC Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA NASDAQ Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Basic Materials Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Basic Materials Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Consumer Discretionary Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Consumer Cyclicals Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Consumer Staples Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Consumer Staples Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Energy Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Energy Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Financial Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Financial Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Healthcare Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Healthcare Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Industrials Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Industrials Momentum Portfolio;
  • PowerShares Dynamic Technology Sector Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Technology Momentum Portfolio; and
  • PowerShares Dynamic Utilities Portfolio becomes the PowerShares DWA Utilities Momentum Portfolio.

The funds will be based on momentum strategies developed by investment analysis firm Dorsey Wright. The strategies utilize Dorsey Wright’s analysis of relative strength characteristics to make stock selection decisions, explains Lorraine Wang, Invesco’s global head of ETF products and research.

Funds that will close include the following:

  • PowerShares KBW International Financial Portfolio
  • PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio
  • PowerShares Dynamic MagniQuant Portfolio
  • PowerShares Lux Nanotech Portfolio

Shareholders may sell their holdings on or before February 18, 2014 and may incur typical transaction fees from their broker-dealer, according to the statement. Shareholders who do not sell their holdings on or before February 18, 2014 will receive cash equal to the amount of the net asset value of their shares, which will include any capital gains and dividends in the cash portion of their brokerage accounts.

The shareholder payment date is currently scheduled for on or about February 25, 2014.  Shareholders will generally recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the amount received for their shares over their adjusted basis in such shares.

For additional information, shareholders of the ETFs which are scheduled for changes or liquidation may call Invesco PowerShares at 800-983-0903.

Diversions December 19, 2013

Santa Makes Six Figures – or Nothing

Many people think Santa should work for free and, if he calls in sick, the best replacement is movie star Tim Allen.
Reported by

Those are the results of an Insure.com survey that looked at how people view the “value” of Santa’s many jobs.

The annual analysis of the average wages associated with Santa’s duties found that his work is worth $137,795 this year, a small bump over the average wages for the same jobs last year ($134,944).

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To calculate Santa’s value, Insure.com estimated his number of hours at each task – investigator of the naughty, list checker, workshop manager and delivery driver, among many others – and used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find the closest matching occupations and average hourly wages.

More than a third of adults nationwide go all Grinch, however, over the issue of a Santa salary. When asked how much Santa should be paid:

  • 37% said Santa should not be paid and that his work should be charitable.
  • 27% said $1.8 billion a year, which is approximately $1 for every child under the age of 15 in the world.
  • 15% said between $100,000 and $200,000 a year.
  • 12% said under $100,000 a year.
  • 9% said more than $200,000 a year.

Those who expect free service also likely wouldn’t give Santa any sick days. Nonetheless, if Santa calls in sick on Christmas Eve, actor Tim Allen snags the sleigh keys based on his past job experience in the lead role in The Santa Clause, respondents said.

Other possible movie star fill-ins:

  • 15% liked John Goodman (The Year Without a Santa Claus).
  • 13% liked Tom Hanks (Polar Express).
  • 2% liked Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa).
  • 1% liked Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” (‘Twas the Night).

Among famous fill-ins because they’ve got plenty of money to spend on presents:

  • 14% wanted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
  • 7% wanted investing guru Warren Buffett.

Among famous fill-ins who’d “keep the elves in line”:

  • 5% liked tycoon Donald Trump.
  • 3% liked Fox TV host Bill O’Reilly.
  • 2% went ho ho ho for the NFL’s New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

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