Products April 15, 2011

First Trust Advisors Introduces 13 New ETFs

April 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - First Trust Advisors L.P. announced the anticipated launch of thirteen new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into its current line of sixteen AlphaDEX funds.
Reported by

The thirteen new ETFs are anticipated to begin trading on April 19 on the NYSE Arca.  

The new funds are: 

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AlphaDEX International

  • FPA First Trust Asia Pacific Ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FEP First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FLN First Trust Latin America AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FBZ First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FCA First Trust China AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FJP First Trust Japan AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FKO First Trust South Korea AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FDT First Trust Developed Markets Ex-US AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FEM First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund  

AlphaDEX Domestic

  • FNY First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FNK First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund 
  • FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund  

 

“The nine funds comprising the AlphaDEX International family of funds consists of a diverse range of broad, regional and single country funds. We believe the positive effects of globalization are going to continue for years to come and investors may benefit from a globally diversified investment portfolio, particularly in the emerging markets where GDP growth for 2011 is projected to be 6.4% compared to 2.2% for advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.” said Dan Waldron, Senior Vice President, Exchange-Traded Funds Strategist of First Trust, in the announcement.   

More about First Trust Advisors is at http://www.ftportfolios.com.
Benefits April 15, 2011

College Faculty Embrace Social Media in the Workplace

April 15, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - College faculty are twice as likely as other workers to use social media as part of their job, according to a new survey from the Babson Survey Research Group and Pearson.
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The survey of nearly 2,000 faculty found that more than 90% of college faculty use social media in the workplace, compared to 47% of employees in other industries.  According to a press release, 80% of respondents report using social media for some aspect of their course.  Of those, nearly two-thirds use social media within their class session, and 30% post content for students to view outside of class.    

More than 40% of faculty say they require students to read or view social media as part of a course assignment, and 20% assign students to comment or post to social media sites.  Almost half of faculty use video and other sites in their teaching, with another one-third using video only, the press release said.  

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The greatest number of faculty using social media to support professional career activities use YouTube, Facebook and blogs.  Facebook daily use at 11% exceeds all other sites.  The majority of faculty report visiting more than one social media site for personal use, and nearly 30% visit three or more sites. Facebook and YouTube are the sites most visited for personal use.  

In addition, faculty say concerns about privacy, the integrity of students’ submissions and the time required of faculty are important or very important barriers to social media use. Still, the overwhelming majority believe there is value in social media for teaching, with YouTube, other online video and podcasts seen as the most valuable for class use, followed by blogs.

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