PowerShares Capital Management has been selected by FTSE International Limited (FTSE) and Research Affiliates LLC as the sole licensee of the FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index for Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).
PowerShares has filed a registration statement with the SEC and anticipates listing an ETF based on the index sometime late this year.
“Interest from asset managers to license the FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index has been very strong,” said Rob Arnott, chairman of Research Affiliates LLC, and the brain trust behind the Fundamental Indexing approach. “After careful consideration of several leading managers, we chose to partner with PowerShares because of their distribution capabilities and innovative product positioning within the ETF marketplace.”
“The FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index is an exciting new development in equity management which we believe will appeal to many investors,” said Bruce Bond, president of PowerShares Capital Management. “The index is a great fit for PowerShares growing family of ‘Intelligent ETFs’ and we believe offers both retail and institutional investors tremendous value when compared to traditional market cap indexes such as the S&P 500 and Russell 1000.”
Jerry Moskowitz, managing director of FTSE Americas said, “We are delighted to work with PowerShares and Research Affiliates to introduce this innovative product. This is the beginning of a strong relationship and we look forward to developing and introducing new ideas to the marketplace.”