Products October 8, 2007

AIG VALIC Broadens SRI Offering

AIG VALIC, an investment provider focusing on the non-profit and for-profit education, health care, and government markets, has broadened the investment mandate of the VALIC Company I Social Awareness Fund.
Reported by

A news release said the new mandate for the Portfolio Director fixed and variable annuity would include socially responsible equity opportunities around the world.

According to the company, the newly named Global Social Awareness Fund provides clients with the opportunity to align their investment decisions with personal values and beliefs. It is one of four socially responsible funds VALIC offers in its variable annuity products.

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VALIC’s newly expanded global fund will invest in the stocks of primarily large capitalization companies located in developed markets worldwide that meet social criteria established by the fund, according to the company.

This means screening out investment in companies that substantially engage in the manufacture or marketing of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, civilian firearms, military weapons or nuclear power. It will also avoid companies that have poor records concerning employee safety, environmental performance and labor relations, the company said.

The fund’s primary investment goal is long-term capital appreciation. Its performance benchmark is the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World Index.The Global Social Awareness Fund, as well as its domestic counterpart, the Socially Responsible Fund, are subadvised by AIG Investments.

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.

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