The Markets August 14, 2007

S&P Adds to Global Thematic Indexes

Standard&Poor’s has added the S&P Global Timber&Forestry Index, S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index, and S&P Global Alternative Energy Index to the group of S&P Global Thematic Indices.
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The new indexes offer investors exposure to new, emerging investment themes within the global markets, according to an announcement from the firm. The S&P Global Thematic Indices is now comprised of six indexes and is designed to provide liquid exposure to investment themes that cut across traditional industry definitions and geographical boundaries, S&P said.

The S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index is comprised of 25 stocks from around the world that represent the timber and forestry investment theme, including forest products companies, timber REITs, paper products companies, paper packaging companies or agricultural product companies that are engaged in the ownership, management, or the upstream supply chain of forests and timberlands.

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The S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index includes 20 of the largest publicly traded companies in the global nuclear energy business from both developed and emerging markets equally distributed between two clusters: Nuclear Materials, Equipment and Services and Nuclear Energy Generation, the announcement said.

The S&P Global Alternative Energy Index is designed to measure investable opportunities in the complete global alternative energy space and is comprised of the S&P Global Clean Energy Index and the S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index.

More information and a white paper discussing the growing investment interest in timber and forestry and the role of the S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index in providing exposure to the investable global timber and forestry market – “Listed Global Timber & Forestry Assets” – can be found at www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

Products August 13, 2007

MetLife Offers Tools for Addressing Lifetime Income Needs

MetLife Investors Distribution Company, the distributor of products offered by the independent distribution arm of MetLife, has launched a marketing campaign designed to help advisers address their clients' need for retirement income.
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“Solving the Mystery of Lifetime Income’ provides financial professionals with tools to assist clients who are approaching retirement and discuss the longevity risks clients face in retirement, how these risks can affect retirement, and how a variable annuity can help mitigate risks by providing lifetime income, according to a MetLife Investors press release. The tools include educational materials; worksheets for financial professionals, their clients and consumers in general; and brochures, sales ideas and seminars for use with clients.

The campaign materials also include a white paper written by Moshe A. Milevsky, Ph.D., associate professor of finance at York University’s Schulich School of Business and executive director of the IFID Centre in Toronto addressing the concept of sequence of returns and how the success of a retirement income strategy can greatly depend on when a person decides to start taking income, the release said.

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“This campaign helps financial advisers teach their clients that they can’t ‘invest away’ financial risks — they must insure against them,” said Elizabeth M. Forget, senior vice president at MetLife, responsible for Marketing and Product Management for MetLife Investors, in the release.

Campaign materials are available to financial professionals at wirehouses, broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have selling agreements with MetLife Investors.

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