The Markets November 27, 2006

ICI: ETF Assets up to $383B in October

The total combined assets of the nation's exchange-traded funds (ETFs) shot up 9.4% to $383.3 billion in October, according to an Investment Company Institute (ICI) news release.
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During the month, $268 billion was in domestic equity indices – up 10.07% from September. Of that amount, $224 billion was in Domestic (broad-based) funds – up 10.4% from September, and $44 billion was in Domestic (Sector/Industry) funds – up 8.3%, according to the ICI data.

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Meanwhile, assets in Global/International Equity Index funds were up 8.2% to $95.3 billion, and assets in Bond Index funds were up 6.4% in October to $19.9 billion.

During October, the value of all ETF shares issued exceeded that of shares redeemed by $19.8 billion. In 2006, ETFs have experienced a net issuance of $53.93 billion.

The total number of ETFs was up by 25 in October over September to 315, ICI said.

Over the past 12 months, ETF assets increased $119.47 billion, or 45.3%, ICI data showed. Assets in domestic equity ETFs increased $71.46 billion since October 2005, and global equity ETF assets rose $42.5 billion during the period.

The full ICI October report is available at http://www.ici.org/stats/etf/etfs_10_06.html.

Products November 27, 2006

PAi to Administer Oppenheimer 401(k) Program

Payroll and retirement plan outsourcing firm PAi has announced a partnership to provide administration for the Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. Genesis 401(k) start-up program.
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According to the announcement, the program offers two full-service solutions – the PLAN4TEN designed for employers with 10 or fewer employees, and the PLAN4MOST designed for all other employers. The Genesis 401(k) program allows sponsors to select up to 15 investment choices and up to 50% of funds selected can be from outside groups.

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PAi support will include a Web site, call center, and other communications support, the announcement said. The Genesis 401(k) program may also be bundled with PAi’s payroll outsourcing solution, PLANPAYROLL.

PAi specializes in payroll and retirement plan outsourcing solutions for small businesses. More information is at www.pai.com.

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