Deals & People March 10, 2011

ERISA Attorney Joins Crowell & Moring

Crowell & Moring LLP has made Seth T. Perretta a partner for the firm's Corporate, Labor & Employment, and Health Care groups in the Washington, D.C. office.
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Perretta will spearhead the firm’s work on critical employee benefits issues, with a focus on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), executive compensation, related federal tax matters and issues for employee health benefit plans under the federal health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). He joins the firm from Davis & Harman LLP.

According to the firm, Perretta’s practice encompasses qualified retirement and pension plans, executive compensation arrangements, federal income and employment taxes, and health and welfare benefit plans, including with respect to PPACA. Perretta represents employers, financial institutions, insurance companies, trade associations, and public policy organizations on a wide range of policy, planning, and technical compliance matters.

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He counsels clients on all aspects of employee benefit plans, including plan design, related trust and financing issues, and various issues arising under ERISA, such as plan terminations, fiduciary liability, and the rules regarding prohibited transactions.

The Markets March 10, 2011

ETF Inflows Driven by Demand for U.S. Equity ETFs

Strategic Insight, an Asset International company, estimates that investors added $6 billion to U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in February 2011, the sixth straight month of positive flows.
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Flows were driven mostly by demand for U.S. equity ETFs (growth funds). Bond ETFs – including muni-bond ETFs – saw net inflows, too.    

According to Loren Fox, senior research analyst at Strategic Insight, SI data showed equity ETF flows in February were $4.6 billion, bond ETF flows were $850 million, and currency ETF flows were $144 million.  

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Net inflows in February were led by natural resources equity ETFs and commodity ETFs – supported by rising oil prices over the course of February. Diversified international emerging markets equity ETFs saw the biggest net outflows in February, sparked by a drop in emerging-markets fund performance and by rising fears of inflation.  

“At the end of February, U.S. ETF assets stood at a record $1.05 trillion – up from $1.01 trillion at the end of 2010. The consistent appeal of ETFs is remarkable. It is just a matter of when, not if, U.S. ETF assets reach $2 trillion,” Fox said in a press release. 

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