Products April 28, 2011

UBS Offers ETN for Business Development Companies

UBS Investment Bank announced that it added to its suite of E-TRACS exchange-traded notes (ETNs) an E-TRACS linked to the Wells Fargo Business Development Company (BDC) Index.
Reported by

The ETN began trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol BDCS.  

UBS explained that BDCs are public vehicles that invest in private equity and debt and were created to increase financing available to small businesses. They function much like private equity funds, although BDCs allow various investors, regardless of size, to participate. A BDC lends to small and midsized companies at high yield equivalent rates and often takes equity stakes in these companies.   

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

The Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index is comprised of 26 BDCs and is a float adjusted, capitalization-weighted index that is intended to measure the performance of BDCs that are publicly listed, satisfying specified market capitalization and other eligibility requirements.  

More information is at http://www.ubs.com/e-tracs.
Products April 28, 2011

ING Rebrands ShareBuilder Subsidiary

ING DIRECT USA’s broker/dealer subsidiary, ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, will be renamed ING DIRECT Investing, Inc.
Reported by

Along with improved brand alignment, ING said the change includes a significant redesign of the ShareBuilder Web site to provide self-directed investors with simpler and less time-consuming ways to secure their financial future.   

The ING DIRECT Investing platform aims to: 

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

  • Cut out investing complexity 
  • Offer new research with ratings and reports from Standard & Poor’s, TheStreet.com and Sabrient
  • Provide enhanced portfolio management; see investments by sector, region, assets and market cap, as well as security-level analysis including key ratings, performance ratios and returns and historical pricing and volume
  • Greater ING DIRECT Integration – customers with accounts at ING DIRECT and ING DIRECT Investing can transfer money between their savings and checking accounts and their brokerage accounts.  ING DIRECT customers can also view their bank account balances on the ING DIRECT Investing site.  
  • Educate through MyNavigator – a new education center with videos and tutorials about common investing questions, including trading, funding/withdrawals, the Automatic Investment Plan, and pricing options  

In a recent ING survey of 1,009 investors, more than four in ten (44%) say the amount of research available to consult — graphs, charts, financial news, social media — is “complicated,” “confusing” or “overwhelming.” Just 18% say the available information is easy to understand.  

Nearly seven in ten (69%) investors agree (strongly/somewhat) that when making an investment decision, having too much information can be as much of a problem as not having enough information, according to the survey.

«