Products January 3, 2007

Commonwealth Financial Network Introduces Fee-Based 401(k) Platform

Commonwealth Financial Network has released a fee-based 401(k) platform, giving advisers access to about 12,000 funds, including no-transaction fee funds, load-waived funds, institutional funds and exchange-traded funds.
Reported by

The new product, Preferred Portfolio Services Retirement Solutions (PPS), satisfies the fiduciary requirements mandated by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and provides full fee disclosure, the company said in a press release.

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The Massachusetts-based broker dealer expects that operating on a fee transparent platform will help it compete in an environment where compensation is flattened and conflicts-of-interest are reduced or eliminated, and fees paid to plan sponsors and advisers are out in the open.

“Not only does this platform allow advisors to capture additional assets under management, but with full integration into Commonwealth’s technology, including our rollover retention tools, it will strengthen and cultivate relationships with their business-owner clientele,” said Timothy Nihill, manager of retirement products and services at Commonwealth, in the release.

Products January 2, 2007

“Clean″ ETF Set to Launch

First Trust Advisors is slated to introduce this month an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the NASDAQ Clean Edge US Liquid Series Index.
Reported by
The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and Clean Edge, Inc. in November announced that First Trust Advisors L.P. had licensed the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index, in order to launch a new exchange traded fund (ETF) that would begin trading in January 2007. The ETF will be managed by First Trust Advisors L.P. and listed on NASDAQ.
The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index (ticker: CELS), developed jointly by NASDAQ and Clean Edge, is designed to track the performance of clean-energy companies that are publicly traded in the U.S. It includes companies engaged in the manufacturing, development, distribution, and installation of emerging clean-energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, biofuels, and advanced batteries, according to a press release.
The four major sub-sectors the index covers are:
  • Renewable Fuels and Electricity Generation,
  • Energy Storage & Conversion,
  • Energy Intelligence, and
  • Advanced Energy-Related Materials.
In April, NASDAQ and First Trust Advisors announced the launch of the First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (ticker: QQEW) and the First Trust NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index Fund (QTEC), ETFs based on the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index and the NASDAQ-100 Technology Index, respectively.

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