Data & Research July 21, 2011

TABB Group Offers Insights for Transition Managers

Nearly 40% of the investment officers surveyed from public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations said they consider investment consulting when selecting a transition manager.
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Those who did not seek investment assistance opted for an internal due diligence process (69%), a pre-existing relationship (20%) or a custodian (17%), TABB wrote in a report on transition management industry issues.  

The survey results show that equitization (27%) and interim management capabilities (42%) are viewed by investment officers as the two most valued parts of a transition manager’s services.   

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Based on the 105 contacts, TABB said it believes that transition managers can differentiate themselves through asset-class expertise, specifically fixed income, emerging markets and illiquid securities; hands-on service and by building individual relationships with plan sponsors and their teams; efficient project management, by delivering daily updates, progress reports and trade status; and commitment and trust built on quality of service.   

The report is available for download by TABB Group Research Alliance clients at https://www.tabbgroup.com/Login.aspx.
Products July 21, 2011

UBS Launches Exchange-Traded Notes

UBS Investment bank has released two ETRACS IPO exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that are linked to the performance of the UBS Internet IPO Index.
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The ETRACs Internet IPO ETN (ticker: EIPO) provides exposure to the performance of the Index, and the Monthly 2xLeveraged ETRACS Internet IPO ETN (ticker: EIPL) provides a monthly compounded two times leveraged exposure to the performance of the Index.

Both Internet IPO ETNs began trading on the NYSE Arca. Investors will be able to gain either leveraged or unleveraged exposure to a portfolio of Internet-related companies that have gone public within the last three years.

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The UBS IPO Index is currently made up of twenty holdings that represent Internet-related stocks, including LinkedIn, HomeAway, Pandora Media and OpenTable.The index’s construction allows for new Internet-related organizations to be added to the portfolio just weeks after their IPOs, and also features a monthly index rebalancing tool and a 3-year age limit on its stocks, designed to ensure that the companies in the index remain up-to-date and relevant.

“There’s a tremendous amount of investor interest in the current generation of Internet-related companies,” said Christopher Yeagley, Managing Director and US Head of Equity Structured Products. “As new Internet-related companies go public, investors in these ETNs will gain exposure to them within weeks after their IPOs, provided they meet certain market capitalization and other eligibility requirements.”

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