The Markets June 27, 2007

ETF Assets Top $485 Billion in May

Assets of all exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose in May by $18.97 billion, or 4.1%, to $485.51 billion, according to data from the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
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Over the past 12 months, ETF assets increased $150.27 billion, or 44.8%.
By ETF type, total Domestic Equity ETF assets were $323.6 billion for the month, compared to $311.9 billion in April. Broad-based domestic equity holdings made up $254.8 billion of the May total, while Sector/Industry domestic equity holdings accounted for $68.8 billion.
Global International Equity Index ETFs held $137.4 billion in assets in May, compared to $131.1 billion in April. Bond Index ETF assets were $24.3 billion for the month, up from $23.4 billion.
The value of ETF shares issued in May was $58.8 billion, while shares redeemed were valued at $53.4 billion, according to ICI data. For 2007 ETFs have experienced a net issuance of $26.44 billion.
A detailed breakdown of the monthly ETF data is available at http://members.ici.org/stats/etfdata.xls.
Products June 27, 2007

CIEBA Updates DC Fee Disclosure Best Practices

The Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets of the Association for Financial Professionals (CIEBA) has released an updated version of its primer, “Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Best Practices.”
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The revised document provides a guide for plan sponsors to use as they develop fee disclosure materials for defined contribution plan participants, according to a CIEBA press release. The primer outlines principles on fee disclosure, general guidelines, and investment-specific information for sponsors to consider.
In addition, the booklet contains sample disclosure statements for different types of plan services and investments.
The “Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Best Practices” primer can be accessed at http://www.afponline.org/pub/cieba/primer/ciebaprimers.html.

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