Products June 12, 2008

MassMutual Allows Online 401(k) Sign-Up

MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division unveiled a Web site feature giving participants easy sign-up for their 401(k) plan.
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Participants can access the ExpressEnroll feature from the homepage of MassMutual’s participant Web site, The Journey, a press release said. The tool provides preset contribution rates and asset allocations that employees can later modify.

“MassMutual’s new ExpressEnroll changes the participant’s experience from one that can be complex and confusing to one that is easy and simple,” said Elaine A. Sarsynski, executive vice president of MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division, in the release. “This enhancement helps to overcome what can be a barrier to joining the plan and helps them get a faster start toward financial security in retirement.”

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Once enrolled, employees receive guidance on other ways they can use the Web site, such as for investment education, changing investments or contribution rates, retirement planning, or updating beneficiaries, MassMutual said.

Products June 12, 2008

PowerShares To List Frontier Countries Portfolio ETF

Invesco PowerShares expects to list the frontier countries portfolio exchange-traded fund (ETF), designed to provide investors access to equity markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
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PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio (ticker: PMNA) will be available on the Nasdaq Stock Market, according to a press release.

The ETF is based on the NASDAQ OMX Middle East North Africa Index. The index is designed to measure the performance of the largest and most liquid securities of companies domiciled in the Middle Eastern and North African countries that have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging markets, the release says. The Index currently includes securities domiciled in: Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates.

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Many of these frontier countries impose restrictions on foreign investments, including foreign ownership limitations, varying from issuer to issuer. At each quarterly rebalance and reconstitution, NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., the index provider, takes into account the current foreign ownership limitations and locked-in stock. In addition, when a security in the Index reaches its limitations on foreign ownership, it will be removed from the underlying index on that day, PowerShares says.

“The PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio replicates an index which takes into account certain foreign ownership limitations that are encountered when investing in the Middle East and North Africa,” said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of Invesco PowerShares, in the release. “We believe PMNA represents a compelling new vehicle for investors seeking access to MENA equities, as it aims to provide access to nine select frontier markets.”

More information is available at www.invescopowershares.com.

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