Products October 8, 2007

PowerShares Expands Fixed-Income ETF Offering

PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), will expand its family of fixed-income ETFs with new listings on October 11, 2007.
Reported by


The anticipated ticker symbols and ETF names, according to a press release, are:

  • PLW – PowerShares 1-30 Laddered Treasury Portfolio,
  • PWZ – PowerShares Insured California Municipal Bond Portfolio, and
  • PZT – PowerShares Insured New York Municipal Bond Portfolio.

Previously-announced PowerShares fixed-income ETFs also listing on October 11 include:

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  • PZA – PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond Portfolio, and
  • PCY – PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio.

Descriptions
The PowerShares 1-30 Laddered Treasury Portfolio is based on the Ryan/Mergent 1-30 Year Treasury Laddered Index, which measures the potential returns of the U.S. Treasury yield curve based on approximately 30 equally-weighted U.S. Treasury issues with fixed coupons, scheduled to mature in a proportional, annual laddered structure. The 1-30 Laddered Treasury Portfolio will generally consist of 30 Treasury issues with maturities approximately one year apart, and seeks to replicate the composition and match performance of this index, before fees and expenses. The PowerShares 1-30 Treasury Ladder Portfolio participates only in U.S. Treasuries that have a fixed maturity dates, and no call provisions.

The PowerShares Insured California Municipal Bond Portfolio is based on the Merrill Lynch California Insured Long-Term Core Municipal Securities Index. The Index is designed to track the performance of AAA-rated, insured tax-exempt long-term debt publicly issued by California or Puerto Rico or their political subdivisions, excluding housing bonds, tobacco bonds, zero coupon and AMT bonds.

The PowerShares Insured New York Municipal Bond Portfolio is based on the Merrill Lynch New York Insured Long-Term Core Municipal Securities Index. The Index is designed to track the performance of AAA-rated, insured tax-exempt long-term debt publicly issued by New York or Puerto Rico or their political subdivisions, excluding housing bonds, tobacco bonds, zero coupon and AMT bonds.

The PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond Portfolio is based on the Merrill Lynch National Insured Long-Term Core Municipal Securities Index. The Index is designed to track the performance of AAA-rated, insured tax-exempt long-term debt publicly issued by U.S. states or their political subdivisions, excluding housing bonds, tobacco bonds, zero coupon and all bonds subject to Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

The PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio offers investors diversified access to the sovereign debt of emerging market countries. The Fund seeks to track the DB Emerging Market U.S. Dollar Balanced Liquid Index, an innovative index developed by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

For more information, visit www.powershares.com.

Deals & People October 8, 2007

Commonwealth to Offer 401(k) Resources to Advisers

Commonwealth Financial Network and 401(k) Producer Services have agreed to an institutional partnership that will provide Commonwealth advisers with access to retirement plan consulting tools and resources.
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Advisers will have access to a multitude of retirement consulting tools, technology, and resources to better serve plan sponsors and their employees, according to a Commonwealth press release. These include fiduciary and plan compliance materials, independent investment analysis, marketing and sales support, fee benchmarking services, consulting services support, administrative checklists and support staff forms, employee communication materials, and practice management assistance.

“We partnered with 401(k) Producer Services to bring a high-quality service platform to our retirement producers,’ said Timothy Nihill, Commonwealth’s manager of retirement, in the release. “What this firm offers will allow our advisers to move upstream in the marketplace, as well as allow them to spend more face time with current and prospective clients.’

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For more information, visit www.commonwealth.com.

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