New ProShares Offer First Way for Fund Investors to Get Short or Magnified Exposure to Style Indexes
February 22 2007 - 9:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
ProShares Grows to Third-Largest Lineup of ETFs in U.S. NEW YORK,
Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- ProShares, together with the American Stock
Exchange(R) (Amex(R)), today announced the addition of 12 exchange
traded funds (ETFs) to the ProShares lineup. The new ProShares,
benchmarked to six Russell style indexes, are the first ETFs or
mutual funds designed to provide short or magnified exposure to
growth and value indexes-with large-, mid- and small- cap versions
of each. "Investing in a specific style mutual fund or ETF has long
been an easy way to tilt a portfolio's exposure toward growth or
value," said Michael Sapir, CEO of ProShare Advisors LLC, part of
ProFunds Group. "The new ProShares are a unique-and we think
useful-addition to the style fund arsenal. Now, by simply buying an
ETF, fund investors can seek to hedge gains in other style
investments with short exposure, or seek to increase the buying
power of their investment dollar with magnified exposure." The new
"style" funds bring ProShares' total offering to 52 ETFs, covering
a wide range of indexes-from broad market choices to specific
sectors. ProShares are the first and only ETFs designed to provide
short or magnified exposure to indexes. In the eight months since
the initial launch of ProShares, the family has grown to more than
$3 billion in assets. "Since the beginning of the year we have more
than quadrupled the size of the ProShares lineup-we now offer the
third-largest lineup of ETFs in the country," Sapir added.
"Investors have been asking us to add more choices because they
want to be able to get ProShares' built-in short or magnified
exposure to more of the indexes they use." The newest ProShares
provide short and magnified exposure to each of six benchmark
Russell indexes. The UltraShort version of each is designed to
provide twice the inverse of the daily performance of the
applicable index (before fees and expenses), and the Ultra version
is designed to double the daily performance of the applicable index
(before fees and expenses). Ultra Style ProShares Names of
ProShares Index Daily Ticker Objective* Symbol Ultra Russell1000
Value Russell 1000(R) Value Double UVG Ultra Russell1000 Growth
Russell 1000(R) Growth Double UKF Ultra Russell MidCap Value
Russell MidCap(R) Value Double UVU Ultra Russell MidCap Growth
Russell MidCap(R) Growth Double UKW Ultra Russell2000 Value Russell
2000(R) Value Double UVT Ultra Russell2000 Growth Russell 2000(R)
Growth Double UKK UltraShort Style ProShares Names of ProShares
Index Daily Ticker Objective* Symbol UltraShort Russell1000 Value
Russell 1000(R) Double Value the inverse SJF UltraShort Russell1000
Growth Russell 1000(R) Double Growth the inverse SFK UltraShort
Russell MidCap Value Russell MidCap(R) Double Value the inverse SJL
UltraShort Russell MidCap Growth Russell MidCap(R) Double Growth
the inverse SDK UltraShort Russell2000 Value Russell 2000(R) Double
Value the inverse SJH UltraShort Russell2000 Growth Russell 2000(R)
Double Growth the inverse SKK *Before fees and expenses "ProShares
continues to be active in bringing new and innovative products to
the marketplace. The Amex is proud to be partnering with ProShares
and listing its 52nd ETF at the Exchange," said Cliff Weber, senior
vice president, Amex ETF Marketplace. "By using Russell's style
indexes for these new ETF products, ProShares relies on the same
underlying index methodology that produced the leading benchmarks
for institutional investors," said Rolf Agather, director of
business development for Russell indexes. "These products provide
investors with some important new tools to more effectively use
growth and value stocks in their investment strategies. We wish
ProShares a world of success with them." About ProShares and
ProFunds Group ProShares are managed by a team headed by Chief
Investment Officer Bill Seale. In addition to ProShares ETFs,
ProFunds Group manages ProFunds mutual funds, the nation's largest
lineup of indexed mutual funds.(1) Since 1997, ProFunds has
provided mutual fund investors with access to innovative mutual
fund strategies, including funds that seek to magnify daily index
performance and funds that seek to increase in value when markets
decline. ProFunds Group describes the portfolio managers common to
ProFund Advisors LLC, advisor to ProFunds mutual funds, and
ProShares Advisors LLC, advisor to ProShares ETFs. JP Morgan
Worldwide Securities Services provides a full range of fund
administration services to ProShares. About The American Stock
Exchange(R) The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) offers trading
across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds
(ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRS(SM). In addition
to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer
of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to
market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex
lists 257 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options
exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector
indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks. For more
information, please visit http://www.amex.com/. About Russell
Indexes Russell Investment Group's objective index methodology is
designed to ensure benchmarks that reflect a true representation of
actual market activity. More than $3.8 trillion in investment
assets are benchmarked to Russell's U.S. family of indexes. Russell
posts its index methodology, including style determination factors,
on its web site: http://www.russell.com/. Carefully consider the
investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of ProShares
and ProFunds before investing. This and other information can be
found in their prospectuses. Read the prospectus(es) carefully
before investing. For a ProShares ETF prospectus, visit
http://www.proshares.com/ and seek advice from your financial
advisor or broker- dealer representative. Financial professionals
can also call 866-PRO-5125. For a ProFunds mutual funds prospectus,
call 888-PRO-FNDS (individual investors) or 888-PRO-5717 (financial
professionals) or visit http://www.profunds.com/. (1) Source:
Lipper, October 6, 2006. Lipper defines "indexed fund" as an
open-end mutual fund (not an ETF) that falls into one of the
following subcategories: pure index, enhanced index or index-based.
The majority of ProFunds are categorized by Lipper as enhanced
index funds. ProShares ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments
Distribution Co. (SEI), which is not affiliated with any ProFunds
Group affiliate. ProFunds mutual funds are distributed by ProFunds
Distributors, Inc. (PDI). SEI and PDI are not affiliated. Investing
involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Please
note that in addition to the normal risks associated with
investing, ProShares and ProFunds entail certain risks, including,
in all or some cases, aggressive investment technique, inverse and
imperfect correlation, leverage, market price variance and short
sale risks. These risks may pose risks different from, or greater
than, those associated with a direct investment in the securities
underlying the funds' benchmarks, can increase volatility, and may
dramatically decrease performance. In addition, ProShares are not
diversified investments. Please see the prospectus for a more
complete description of these risks. DATASOURCE: American Stock
Exchange CONTACT: Media, Tucker Hewes of Hewes Communications, Inc.
for ProShares, +1-212-207-9451, or ; or Mary Chung of American
Stock Exchange, +1-212-306-1641, or Web site: http://www.amex.com/
http://www.russell.com/ http://www.proshares.com/
http://www.profunds.com/
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