CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - October 1, 2009) - Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of
exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that on Friday, September 25,
the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio (PVI) surpassed $1 billion
in assets under management (AUM).
Launched in November of 2007, the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly
Portfolio was the first ETF to provide investors access to the variable
rate demand obligation (VRDO) market. VRDOs are floating-rate municipal
bonds that offer investors tax-exempt income in a short-term time frame.
Historically, the VRDO market has generally been accessible only by
institutional investors. Large trading denominations (generally starting at
$100,000) created a barrier between VRDOs and the average investor. Invesco
PowerShares took strides to eliminate that barrier by launching PVI.
"Invesco PowerShares has strived to provide investors access to markets
that have traditionally been difficult to invest in, and we are very
pleased with the success of PVI," said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of
Invesco PowerShares. "The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio
epitomizes our commitment to providing innovative investment products that
feature the tax efficiency,(1) transparency,(2) and liquidity(3) benefits
inherent to the ETF structure."
The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio is based on the Thomson
Municipal Market Data VRDO Index. The Fund will normally invest at least
90% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Index. The Index is
designed to track the performance of a pool of tax-exempt VRDOs issued by
municipalities in the United States on which the yields generally reset on
a weekly basis. For additional information on PVI please visit
http://www.invescopowershares.com/vrdo/.
Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is leading the intelligent ETF
revolution through its family of more than 110 domestic and international
exchange-traded funds, which seek to outperform traditional benchmark
indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative
array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets of $34.4
billion as of June 30, 2009, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock
exchanges. For more information, please visit us at
www.invescopowershares.com.
Invesco PowerShares is a wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a leading
independent global investment management firm dedicated to helping people
worldwide build their financial security. Invesco provides a comprehensive
array of enduring investment solutions for retail, institutional and
high-net-worth clients around the world. Operating in 20 countries, the
firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "IVZ."
Additional information is available at www.invesco.com.
There are risks involved with investing in ETFs, including possible loss of
money. Shares are not actively managed and are subject to risks similar to
those of stocks, including those regarding short selling and margin
maintenance requirements. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.
(1) Invesco PowerShares does not offer tax advice. Please consult your own
tax advisor for information regarding your own tax situation.
(2) ETFs disclose their full portfolio holdings daily.
(3) Shares are not individually redeemable and owners of the Shares may
acquire those shares from the Funds and tender those shares for redemption
to the Funds in Creation Unit aggregations only, typically consisting of
50,000 Shares.
There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including the possible loss
of money. The investment return and principal value of an investment in
PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio will fluctuate so that shares,
when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Shares are
not actively managed and are subject to risks similar to those of stocks,
including those regarding short selling and margin maintenance
requirements. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.
The Fund's use of a representative sampling approach will result in its
holding a smaller number of bonds than are in the Fund's underlying Index.
As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of bonds held by
the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if
the Fund held all of the bonds in the Fund's underlying Index. To the
extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times, either as a result of cash
flows into the fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet
redemptions and expenses.
Variable Rate Debt Obligations Risk: There may not be an active secondary
market with respect to particular variable rate instruments in which the
Fund invests, which could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a
variable rate instrument if the issuer and/or the Remarketing Agent
defaulted on its payment obligation or during periods that the Fund is not
entitled to exercise its demand rights, and the Fund could, for these or
other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to such instruments. Municipal
securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other
political events, local business or economic conditions or the bankruptcy
of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer's ability to
make payments of principal and/or interest. Municipal securities can be
significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the
municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of
municipal security holders. Because many securities are issued to finance
similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care,
transportation and utilities, conditions in those sectors can affect the
overall municipal market. In addition, changes in the financial condition
of an individual municipal insurer can affect the overall municipal market.
Please see the prospectus for more complete information regarding VRDOs and
municipal securities.
Generally, the prices of income securities tend to fall as interest rates
rise.
Shares are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as
economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest
rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Please see the prospectus
for more complete information regarding an investment in the Fund.
Shares are not FDIC insured, may lose value and have no bank guarantee.
PowerShares® is a registered trademark of Invesco PowerShares Capital
Management LLC (Invesco PowerShares). Invesco PowerShares Capital
Management LLC and Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. are indirect, wholly
owned subsidiaries of Invesco Ltd.
Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the PowerShares
Exchange-Traded Fund
Trust II.
An investor should consider the Fund's investment objective, risks, charges
and expenses carefully before investing. For a copy of the prospectus which
contains this and other information about the Fund, call 800.983.0903 or
visit www.invescopowershares.com. Please read the prospectus carefully
before investing.
Contact Information: Media Contacts:
Kristin Sadlon
Porter Novelli
212-601-8192
Bill Conboy
303-415-2290