Products April 22, 2008

Market Vectors Launches Solar Energy ETF

Asset manager Van Eck Global today launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in hopes of profiting from the growth of solar power.
Reported by

The company says the fund, Market Vectors – Solar Energy ETF (KWT), listed on the American Stock Exchange, is among the first solar ETFs listed in the U.S.

KWT seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Ardour Solar Energy Index (SOLRX).

SOLRX includes only those companies that generate at least 66% of their revenues from solar energy. On an index-weighted basis, the companies in SOLRX derive well over 90% of their revenues from solar energy. Currently, the four top holdings are First Solar, Q-Cells, Renewable Energy and Solarworld, with weightings of 10% each.

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Worldwide, the solar industry’s revenues are expected to grow 30% to 35% annually over the next three years, and its earnings are projected to hit $5.6 billion in 2010, versus an estimated $3.3 billion in 2008, according to Ardour Capital Investments.

“Solar power has become an increasingly popular source of energy around the world, with demand exploding against a backdrop of steadily declining costs and prices that reflect economies of scale and technological and manufacturing advancements,’ said Jan van Eck, principal at Van Eck Global, which manages more than $10.8 billion in assets. “With more countries seeking to mitigate rising energy prices and the threat of global warming by implementing solar-friendly policies, the global solar industry appears poised to enter a period of remarkable growth.’

Deals & People April 21, 2008

Cash Balance Plan Consultant Expands Nationwide

Kravitz, a consultant in the design, implementation, and management of cash balance pension plans, announced its nationwide expansion with the opening of six satellite offices.
Reported by

The new satellite offices are located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Charleston, South Carolina, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The announcement said the rapid growth in popularity of cash balance retirement plans has fueled the expansion.

“The new offices enhance the company’s breadth and capacity to fully support and serve our growing network of partners and clients with a focus on cash balance retirement plans,” stated Dan Kravitz, President of Kravitz, in the announcement.

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To help meet the increasing demand for cash balance retirement plan design, Kravitz recently launched a Web site focused on cash balance plans to help retirement plan advisers, providers, and third party administrators grow their retirement plan business and introduced the Cash Balance Coach program for advisers (See New Web Site Helps With Cash Balance Plan Business) and the Cash Balance TPA Partners Program, working with retirement plan third party administrators (See Adviser Partners with TPAs in Management of Cash Balance Plans). The company also released the Kravitz Cash Balance Maturity Portfolios, a series of portfolios developed exclusively for cash balance plans (See Kravitz Unveils Asset Allocation Solution for Cash Balance Plans).

For more information, visit www.cashbalancedesign.com.

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