Products October 16, 2007

SSgA Adds Three Fixed Income ETFs

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, is offering three new fixed income SPDRs, including the first ETF to offer investors exposure to the national short-term municipal bond market.
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The new funds began trading on the American Stock Exchange October 15. SSgA said the three new municipal bond SPDRs include the:

  • SPDR Lehman Short Term Municipal Bond ETF, which provides exposure to over 3,600 issues with a nominal maturity of one to five years and an outstanding par value of at least $7 million. The average credit quality of the index is AA1/AAA and none of its bonds are currently subject to Federal taxes or the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
  • SPDR Lehman California Municipal Bond ETF, which provides exposure to over 3,000 publicly traded California municipal bonds that have at least an outstanding par value of $7 million. The average credit quality of the index is AA1/AAA and none of its bonds are currently subject to Federal taxes, California state income taxes, or the AMT.
  • SPDR Lehman New York Municipal Bond ETF, which provides exposure to over 2,900 publicly traded New York municipal bonds that have at least an outstanding par value of $7 million. The average credit quality of the index is AA1/AAA and none of its bonds are currently subject to Federal taxes, New York State income taxes, or the AMT.

“In providing convenient, low cost access to the short-term tax exempt bond market and two of the largest municipal bond markets in the nation, these three new SPDRs will help investors enhance the diversification and after-tax returns of their portfolios with the utmost unmatched precision,’ said Anthony Rochte, senior managing director at SSgA, in a press release.

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State Street’s family of fixed income ETFs now includes ten funds that provide precise, low-cost access to an array of fixed income segments and maturities.

More information is at www.ssga.com.

Products October 15, 2007

Schwab Offers Health Care for Independent Advisers

Schwab Institutional on Monday announced a new relationship with national human resources outsourcing company TriNet to provide health care and benefit services for independent investment advisers and their employees.
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As part of the relationship with TriNet, advisers who custody assets with Schwab will now be able to receive health and life insurance, payroll services, and company retirement and employee incentive plans from TriNet at preferred rates, according to a press announcement. The human resources outsourcing service is part of Schwab Institutional’s GrowthPoint practice management program.

The new service enables independent advisers to work with a single vendor to establish and administer multiple services, which may include medical, dental, and vision benefits, as well as long-and short-term disability insurance, and 401(k) plans. TriNet assumes responsibility for administering certain human resource functions, such as employee benefits and payroll, worker’s compensation, labor and wage compliance, employment tax filings, and employee files, the announcement said.

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TriNet also has dedicated consultants to work with advisers to select the appropriate benefits package.

There are no minimum employee requirements, providing an offering to small firms that may not otherwise have access to such services. The offering may also be of interest to advisers who are making the transition to becoming independent investment advisers.

For more information on the new offering through Schwab Institutional and TriNet, advisers may call 1-877-687-4085.

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