Investing February 26, 2002

ETF Assets Dip in January

February 26, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Assets invested in exchange traded funds (ETF) added up to $82 billion at the close of January 2002, down a slight 1.1% from December's $82.9 billion figure, according a report by the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
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The value of shares issued exceeding that of shares redeemed by $256 million, with gross issuance falling to $4.77 billion in January, down from $8.43 billion in December while redemptions fell to $4.52 billion from $4.82 billion.

Broad-based domestic equity ETF assets dropped to $70.61 billion at the end of January, from a December total of $71.77 billion, while domestic sector/industry funds were up to $8.43 billion, from $8.20 billion in December. Global/international ETFs slipped somewhat, to $2.96 billion from $3.01 billion a month earlier.

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The ICI report includes 35 broad-based domestic equity ETFs, 33 domestic sector/industry focused funds, and 34 global/internationally-oriented ETFs.

Statistics contained in the monthly ETF report have been obtained from information provided to ICI by exchange-traded funds. Trust-issued receipts, such as Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS), are not included in the report because registered investment companies do not issue them.

An ETF is similar to a mutual fund, but trades like a single stock. Like a mutual fund, an ETF is a basket of stocks, most typically reflecting a particular index, specific market or geographic sectors.



Read more about Exchange Traded Funds



Benefits February 25, 2002

Hiring Survey up Slightly

February 25, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - About one in five companies participating in a recent survey said they planned to hire staff during the second quarter - a slight improvement, but not enough to bring the job market back to what it was in the boom years.
Reported by

According to Manpower Inc.’s quarterly hiring survey, 21% said they’d be hiring. However 10% said they planned second-quarter layoffs and the rest said their staffing levels would remain the same or their hiring plans were still uncertain.

The survey’s second quarter findings are down from the same time last year, when 28% of the firms said they planned to hire people and 8% intended to cut staff.

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Manufacturing

In the durable goods manufacturing sector, 20% of respondents have plans to hire, while 14% anticipated cutbacks.

In the non-durable goods area, 19% of manufacturers planned to bring on people, while 9% said they were likely to let people go.

The survey covers 16,000 US businesses.


 

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