The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in two new exchange-traded funds from PowerShares Capital Management, bringing the total number of ETF listings on the Amex to 375.
The American Stock Exchange has launched trading in two new exchange-traded funds from PowerShares Capital Management, bringing the total number of ETF listings on the Amex to 375.
‘The Amex takes great pride in supporting PowerShares as they grow their ETF family,’ says Scott Ebner, senior vice-president for the Amex ETF Marketplace. ‘The Amex remains committed to bringing innovative investment vehicles to the marketplace.’
The PowerShares VRDO Tax Free Weekly Portfolio seeks to track the Thomson Municipal Market Data VRDO Index, which consists of a pool of tax-exempt short-term variable rate demand obligations issued by US municipalities that reset interest rates on a weekly basis.
The PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio tracks the Wachovia High Yield Bond Index, which follows the performance of a selected basket of high-yield bonds payable in US dollars.
‘High-quality VRDOs can provide attractive tax-exempt yields, but the typical USD100,000 trading increment precludes many investors from participating in this asset class,’ says Bruce Bond, president and chief executive of PowerShares Capital Management.
‘The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly portfolio will truly open this market for investors. We also believe the PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio will provide investors with better access to these types of fixed-income securities, with the additional benefits of the ETF format.’
Kellogg Capital Group is the specialist or market-maker for the VRDO Tax Free Weekly Portfolio, while Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing is the specialist for the High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio.
PowerShares Capital Management offers a family of more than 90 domestic and international exchange-traded funds that seek to outperform traditional benchmark indices. With franchise assets of nearly USD35bn, PowerShares ETFs trade on all three US stock exchanges; the PowerShares QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, is the most actively traded equity security in the world.
PowerShares is part of Invesco, an independent global investment manager that operates under the AIM, AIM Trimark, Atlantic Trust, Invesco Perpetual, PowerShares and WL Ross brands and had some USD492bn in assets under management at the end of August.
