The Markets September 14, 2007

ETF Assets Reach $505B in August

U.S. listed ETF assets rose by approximately $23 billion in August with size, sector, style, and fixed income ETFs experiencing considerable asset growth.
Reported by

State Street Global Advisors’ (SSgA) latest monthly statistical report indicated that size, sector, style, and fixed income ETFs enjoyed gains of $17 billion, $3 billion, $2 billion, and $1 billion, respectively. Seven new ETFs were launched during August, bringing the total number of ETFs to 507, managed by 17 ETF managers.

The top three managers in the US ETF marketplace as of August 31, 2007 were Barclays Global Investors (BGI), with assets under management reaching $284 billion in 136 ETFs, followed by State Street with $104 billion in 58 ETFs.

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The top three US ETFs in terms of dollar volume traded for the month were the SPDR S&P 500; the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund; and the NASDAQ 100 Index Tracking Stock.

The top three US ETFs in terms of assets as of August 31, 2007 were the SPDR S&P 500, the iShares MSCI EAFE Fund, and the NASDAQ 100 Index Tracking Stock.

Information Technology, Consumer Staples, and Health Care were the top three performers, respectively returning 2.7%, 2.5%, and 2.3%.The Materials sector performed the poorest in August, returning -0.8%.

SSgA’s complete ETF report is available here.

Products September 14, 2007

Lincoln, Ibbotson Partner on New Fund Lineup

Lincoln Employer Markets, a division of Lincoln Financial Group, is partnering with Ibbotson Associates to offer the Lincoln Ibbotson Insight Series of funds to its defined contribution clients.
Reported by

The new offering is selected by Ibbotson Associates from the investment options that Lincoln makes available within certain defined contribution products. Ibbotson, a Registered Investment Advisor, will act as a fiduciary in selecting and monitoring the investment lineup, a press announcement said.

“We recognize that plan sponsors are increasingly in need of fiduciary guidance,” said Westley Thompson, president of Lincoln Employer Markets, in the announcement. “Many small employers do not have the level of expertise needed to choose, monitor, evaluate and substitute the investments in their retirement plan.”

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The new lineup is available on Lincoln Director and Lincoln American Legacy Retirement Group Variable Annuities.

The service will be integrated into Lincoln’s retirement products and is included in pricing of the product. The Lincoln Ibbotson Insight Series is available to Lincoln clients unless they elect to engage in their own fiduciary process, according to the company.

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