Products April 5, 2011

PSCA Offers Access to Annuity Solution

The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA) is offering the Hueler Income Solutions platform to its plan sponsor member companies.
Reported by

PSCA plan sponsor member companies will be able to provide information about having a fixed payment stream in retirement to interested employees. The Hueler solution includes a Web-based annuity purchasing option that allows employees to compare income annuities from leading insurance companies. This annuity purchasing portal includes an education component but does not include access to guidance.   

The Hueler Income Solutions platform is designed for individuals seeking a fixed stream of income in retirement to augment their investment holdings, workplace retirement plan savings, and Social Security benefits. It allows retirement plan participants to obtain customized quotes on a real-time basis and evaluate directly comparable contracts from multiple companies.   

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Annuity quotes through the platform will be competitive due to competition and the low, fully disclosed, transaction fee. PSCA will not receive any remuneration in the event a plan participant chooses to purchase an annuity through the Hueler platform.    

More about PSCA is at http://www.psca.org.  

More about Hueler Companies is at http://www.hueler.com.
Products April 5, 2011

Van Eck Launches German ETF

Asset manager Van Eck Global launched what it says is the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to give investors pure-play exposure to Europe’s largest economy.
Reported by

The Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: GERJ) seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap Index (MVGERJTR). Market Vectors indexes are designed to more fully reflect the fundamental dynamics of investing in local market economies.  

Constituent requirements include liquidity based on minimum levels of market capitalization and daily trading volume; local market exposure, with at least 50% of revenues generated from a country, even if the company is listed, domiciled, or headquartered elsewhere; diversification based on a tiered weighting scheme; and transparency, with constituents and weights updated and published daily. As of March 8, 2011, the Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap Index was comprised of 95 companies with an average market capitalization of $1.2 billion.   

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The largest sector weightings were Industrials (approximately 35%), IT (16%), and consumer discretionary (15%).

According to the announcement, GERJ carries a net expense ratio of 0.55% and a gross expense ratio of 0.63%. 

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