ETF Providers Settle Ticker Dispute

The firms announced that a settlement has been reached under which Invesco PowerShares will voluntarily change the ticker symbols of its nine S&P SmallCap Sector ETFs. The changes are aimed at making the PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector ETF tickers more distinguishable from the Select Sector SPDR tickers, according to a press release.

Last summer the Select Sector SPDR Trust filed suit against PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, INVESCO PowerShares Capital Management, LLC, and INVESCO Distributors, Inc. under Section 43 of the Federal Trademark Act, and common law of the State of Texas, claiming that PowerShares’ use of ticker symbols for the nine sector ETFs it launched in April differed by “just one letter, an “S” appended to the end of the same symbols used since 1998 by Select Sector SPDRs for precisely the same sectors.” (see Select Sector SPDR Trust Launches Trademark Suit Against PowerShares).

The PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs will begin trading under the new tickers in late March, 2011; all other attributes of the products will remain unchanged. The new tickers are as follows:

Sector                                                       Old Ticker          New Ticker

Consumer Discretionary                               XLYS                   PSCD

Consumer Staples                                        XLPS                   PSCC

Energy                                                        XLES                   PSCE

Financials                                                   XLFS                    PSCF

Health Care                                                 XLVS                   PSCH

Industrials                                                   XLIS                      PSCI

Information Technology                                 XLKS                    PSCT

Materials                                                     XLBS                   PSCM

Utilities & Telecom Services                          XLUS                   PSCU

 “Our intent, when we selected the original tickers was not to confuse, but simply to make it easier for S&P Sector investors to identify the tickers of the new Small Cap S&P Sector ETFs. We have worked closely with the Select Sector SPDR Board and understand their perspective on the matter. We were amenable to their proposal because the PowerShares S&P Small Cap Sectors have filled a significant gap in the market and have been very well received by investors,” noted Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs.

 “Both parties agree that in the interests of investors, the best course of action is to work together to make the changes,” noted Dan Dolan of Select Sector SPDRs.  “We appreciate Invesco PowerShares’ willingness to work with Select Sector SPDRs and are eager to move ahead as we continue to provide investors powerful ways to express their investment convictions on sectors of the U.S. stock market,” added Dolan.

The new tickers on the PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs and on their intraday NAVs will go into effect before the end of March, 2011. The tickers of the fund’s underlying indexes will remain the same. The funds will maintain their listing on the NASDAQ.