MADISON, N.J., June 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today marks the first time investors will be able to purchase exchange traded products linked to U.S. Housing. The securities will be traded on NYSE Arca under the listings:
MacroShares Major Metro Housing UP (NYSE:UMM) MacroShares Major Metro Housing Down (NYSE:DMM)
UMM and DMM are benchmarked to the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index, the most widely watched home price index in the world, which is a weighted measure of home price changes in the following metropolitan areas:
Boston Chicago Denver Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami New York San Diego San Francisco Washington, D.C.
Sam Masucci, President and CEO of MacroMarkets noted, "U.S. Housing is the largest unsecuritized asset class in the world. Major Metro Housing provides retail and institutional investors a simple means to publicly trade U.S. Home Prices. Investors interested in participating in a housing recovery can purchase UMM, which is designed to increase in value as the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 increases. Those looking to hedge home price exposure can buy DMM, which is designed to increase in value as the index declines. I am excited to be a part of the dream that professors Robert Shiller and Karl Case had more than 20 years ago when they created the Case-Shiller indexes to foster tradable housing markets."
"Our current financial crisis is largely due to a failure to manage housing risk. At approximately $20 Trillion, U.S. housing is a large and important asset class that has suffered from the lack of liquid, transparent markets. The launch of Major Metro Housing is a major step in filing this void. For the first time, the market will have available exchange traded benchmarks as an indication of where investors believe U.S home prices are headed. This sentiment will be expressed through the traded prices of UMM and DMM, which will be available globally through the public markets," commented MacroMarkets Chief Economist and co-founder, Robert Shiller.
UMM and DMM were designed to offer U.S. housing exposure with exchange traded liquidity but without issuer and counterparty credit risk. The Major Metro Housing trusts will be fully collateralized by short-term United States Treasury Bills, overnight repurchase agreements secured by Treasury securities, and cash. The paired securities will feature a 3x (300%) leverage factor.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. Securities may not be sold or offers to buy be accepted prior to the time that the registration statement becomes effective. You may obtain a written prospectus by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, MacroShares Housing Depositor, LLC, will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request by calling toll-free (888) 9House5.
MacroShares Housing Depositor, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and is acting as the depositor for the MacroShares Major Metro Housing Up and Down trusts. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in the registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering.
MacroMarkets LLC is the Administrative Agent and its subsidiary, MacroFinancial, LLC, is the marketing agent for the MacroShares Trusts. MacroFinancial is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Important Risks
This Information does not represent an offer to sell securities of the MacroShares Trusts and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities of these Trusts. There can be no assurance that the Trusts will achieve their investment objectives. An investment in the MacroShares Trusts involves significant risks, including the risk of loss of substantially all of your investment. There is no guarantee as to the amount of any quarterly distribution or the amount of the final distribution to shareholders. You should review the risk factors in the prospectus prior to investing in a MacroShares Trust.
Fluctuations in the underlying value of a MacroShares Trust and other factors may affect the market price of your MacroShares investment. An investment in a MacroShares Trust will not resemble a direct investment in the asset being tracked. The price of the asset being tracked by a MacroShares Trust may be volatile. It may be difficult to predict whether in the long-term the price of the asset being tracked will reflect a generally upward or downward trend. There are risks associated with investing in a product linked to a benchmark. A substitute price may be used as the reference price of the benchmark asset.
MacroMarkets LLC and their respective affiliates do not provide tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their tax advisor to fully understand the tax implications associated with and investment in any MacroShares Trust.
Additional Information about MacroShares can be found at www.macroshares.com