Deals & People January 8, 2007

M Benefit Solutions – Bank Strategies Expands Presence in the West

M Benefit Solutions - Bank Strategies has added Corrigan&Company to its lineup of Community Bank Advisor Firms.
Reported by
The addition of the Santa Barbara-based Corrigan & Company, formerly known as BenmarkWest, solidifies the presence M Benefits Solutions – Bank Strategies maintains in the Western United States, the company said. Corrigan & Company is led by Michael Corrigan, the company’s founder and chairman.

M Benefit Solutions – Bank Strategies, based in Portland, Oregon, is a division of M Benefit Solutions, a Member Firm of M Financial Group. It uses a network of adviser firms across the country that specialize in the bank owned life insurance (BOLI) market to assist banks in attracting, retaining and rewarding key executives and directors through the design, implementation and administration of benefit programs.

For more information, visit www.mben.com/bank.
Deals & People January 8, 2007

End of the Road for SSGA’s streetTRACKS

The investment management arm of State Street Global Corporation is rebranding its exchange-traded funds (ETFs), ending the streetTRACKS label and consolidating under the SPDR brand, in an effort to bring more clarity to investors.
Reported by
According to a press release from State Street, each listed ETF will begin with “SPDR.” but will keep the same ticker symbol. Research by State Street showed that consolidating its ETF products under the “SPDR” name, rebranding its Web site (www.spdretfs.com), and introducing a new logo featuring a redesigned version of the brand’s mark would present a more discernible suite of products.

The brand change will occur in phases, beginning Monday and continuing throughout the year.

A chart detailing the fund rebranding and new fund names can be found here.

In October 2006, State Street Global Advisors’ US assets under management in ETFs topped $100 billion for the first time – up from $75 billion year over year, the company said. At year-end 2006, the firm managed approximately $102 billion across 43 ETFs domestic ($113 billion and 67 worldwide).

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