Products July 2, 2009

ETFs Provide Short and Leveraged Exposure to Russell 3000

July 2, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ProFunds Group has launched what it says are the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) built to provide short and leveraged exposure to the Russell 3000 Index.
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According to an announcement, the ProShares Ultra Russell3000 (UWC) is built to produce 200% of the performance of the Russell 3000 Index for a single day, while ProShares UltraShort Russell3000 (TWQ) is built to produce 200% of the inverse performance of the Russell 3000 Index for a single day.

The Russell 3000 Index measures the stock performance of the largest 3000 U.S. companies, representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. The new ETFs are listed on NYSE Arca.

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“With the addition of these broad market funds, ProShares now has seventeen leveraged and short ETFs linked to Russell indexes,” said Michael L. Sapir, ProFunds Group Chairman and CEO, in the announcement.

More information is at www.proshares.com .

Products July 1, 2009

Dow Jones Launches New Islamic Market Index

July 1, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Dow Jones Indexes has licensed the Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index to Javelin Investment Management, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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A press release said the blue-chip index will underlie the first Shari’ah compliant exchange-traded fund listed in the U.S. – the JETS Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund (JVS) – available on the New York Stock Exchange July 1.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index measures the stock performance of 100 leading ex-U.S. companies that have passed rules-based screens for Shari’ah compliance. To determine their eligibility for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, stocks are screened based on their industry type and their financial ratios.

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According to the press release, excluded are companies engaged in the following lines of business: alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, financial services, defense/weapons and entertainment. Also excluded are companies for which the following financial ratios are 33% or more: debt divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization; cash plus interest-bearing securities divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization; and accounts receivables divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization.

Each component’s weight is capped at 10% of the index to avoid overweight of one single stock. The index composition is reviewed annually in June.

More information is at www.djindexes.com .

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