Products April 5, 2008

UBS Launches Family of ETNs

Eight UBS E-TRACS Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) have begun trading on NYSE Arca.
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According to a press release, UBS E-TRACS belong to an “..innovative class of investment products offering easy access to markets and strategies that had not been readily available to individual investors.’
ETNs are primarily used as access products, combining exposure to various markets like futures and commodities with the investment ease of listed securities. These ETNs track the performance of the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index (CMCI), the first benchmark commodity index to diversify across both commodities and maturities, according to the firm.
The first eight products are linked to corresponding UBS Bloomberg CMCI indices, and traded on NYSE Arca under the following ticker symbols:
  • CMCI Index (UCI),
  • CMCI Agriculture Index (UAG),
  • CMCI Livestock Index (UBC),
  • CMCI Industrial Metals Index (UBM),
  • CMCI Food Index (FUD),
  • CMCI Energy Index (UBN),
  • CMCI Gold Index (UBZ), and
  • CMCI Silver Index (USV).
UBS E-TRACs are senior unsecured notes issued by UBS AG, and can be bought and sold through a broker or financial advisor. For more information about UBS E-TRACs, check out www.ubs.com/e-tracs.
Compliance April 4, 2008

SPARK Issues Proposed Best Practices for 403(b) Info Sharing

The SPARK Institute has released for public review and comment the first of two proposals for best practices in information sharing among 403(b) plan providers and sponsors.
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In a news release, SPARK general counsel Larry Goldbrum said the exposure draft, “Best Practices for 403(b) Plans Information Sharing — Minimum and Comprehensive Data Elements,” summarizes what information will be shared among affected parties. “We are continuing to work on developing best practices regarding “how’ the data will be shared, “when’ particular data will be shared, and “how much’ will be shared in particular situations,’ Goldbrum said.

This draft best practices document is the result from The SPARK Institute 403(b) Plans Data Sharing Technology Summit held on March 26 that was attended by senior level information technology and business representatives from service provider firms and organizations sponsoring 403(b) plans.

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SPARK asks that service providers and plan sponsors review the document and provide comments, concerns, or suggested improvements by April 18 as they desire to finalize the document by April 30th. Written comments can be emailed to Larry Goldbrum at larry@sparkinstitute.org.

The draft document can be viewed at www.sparkinstitute.org/comments-and-materials.php.

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