Products January 23, 2007

NY Firm Unveils ETFs for Health, Biotech Research

New York-based XShares Advisors LLC launched five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, with each aimed at a segment of the health care, life science and biotechnology industries.
Reported by

XShares said the new ETFs take a “vertical” approach to sector investing and that they will allow customers to emphasize in their investments diagnosing or treatment of diseases such as heart disease or cancer, according to a Reuters news report. Each will track an index of 22 to 25 stocks.

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According to the news report, the new ETFs are:

  • the Healthcare Cardio Devices Exchange Traded Fund.

  • the Diagnostics ETF.

  • the Emerging Cancer ETF.

  • the Enabling Technologies ETF; and

  • the Patient Care Services ETF.

Reuters said the Enabling Technologies ETF takes positions in companies that provide products or services that support the discovery, development and manufacturing efforts of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms.

Bill Kridel, chairman, chief executive and co-founder of XShares, told Reuters that the approach allows investors to make precise investments within health care that would be narrower than what is found in a traditional health care mutual fund.

The annual expense-ratio for the five new ETFs is being capped at 0.75%, according to the news report.

Products January 23, 2007

AssetMark Targets Retirement Income

AssetMark Investment Services, Inc. has announced a new investment product designed to address the income and long-term investing needs of retiring baby boomers.
Reported by

AssetMark, a provider of investment and business development solutions for advisers, said the new solution, Distribution Strategies, will use strategic exchange-traded fund (ETF) asset allocation strategies for distribution life-stage investors. The new ETF strategies were also announced Tuesday by New Frontier Advisors, LLC (NFA), an institutional investment research and advisory firm specializing in the development and application of asset management technology.

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According to the joint announcement from both AssetMark and NFA, NFA’s optimized multiple fund distribution ETF strategy is based on the firm’s research in the theory of optimal investment over time and tests based on capital market history. The strategy’s objective is to provide efficient reduction of distribution life-stage risk while optimally maintaining long-term objectives, the announcement said.

Investors will be offered a choice of three risk profiles: balanced income, balanced, and balanced growth. NFA’s Resampled Efficient Frontier optimization process will provide portfolio rebalancing and monitoring technology to enhance investment performance.

More information can be found at www.newfrontieradvisors.com.

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