ETFs Changing the Way Advisors Do Business, According to State Street and Wharton Study

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) and Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, today announced the results of a joint survey exploring the impact of exchange traded products on the financial advisory business.

According to the survey of 840 investment professionals, sponsored by State Street and SPDR University, State Street’s new on-line educational resource, 67 percent identified ETFs as the most innovative investment vehicle of the last two decades and 60 percent reported that ETFs have fundamentally changed the way they construct investment portfolios.

“Exchange traded products have become an increasingly vital investment vehicle for financial intermediaries,” said Anthony Rochte, senior managing director of State Street Global Advisors. “By incorporating exchange-traded products into sector rotation, core-satellite, tax management, and portfolio completion strategies, advisors are simultaneously managing costs and risk, which helps underscore their value proposition and strengthen relationships with clients.”

Asked about the greatest potential growth arena for ETFs, 43 percent of advisors cited 401(k) plans and 27 percent singled out actively managed ETFs, a product that has only recently been introduced in the marketplace.

The top five most appealing characteristics of ETFs, as ranked by financial advisors include:

1. Low cost;

2. Liquidity;

3. Intraday trading;

4. Tax efficiency; and

5. Investment style purity.

When asked about the greatest disadvantages of ETFs, 69 percent of the advisors surveyed cited their, “unknown/untested indexes and/or portfolio methodologies” or the, “overwhelming number of choices.”

“The pace at which new ETFs and indices are entering the market is clearly a concern,” said Rochte. “In light of these findings and the increasing importance of understanding index methodologies, the role of responsible product development and educational support cannot be overstated.”

Additional survey findings include:

• Nearly four-in-five advisors (76 percent) believe the use of ETFs encourages fee-based models.
• While a majority of financial advisors (76 percent) identified themselves as light-to-moderate users, indicating that less than 50 percent of their portfolios utilize ETFs, just 4 percent report they do not use the instruments at all.
• Some 60 percent of respondents said they knew what exchange traded notes or ETNs are while 29 percent indicated that they plan on increasing their use of ETNs in the future.
• Only 31 percent of advisors are currently using inverse ETFs, which allow investors to bet against a market index. However, nearly 40 percent report that they plan to increase their use of inverse ETFs in the future.

A report featuring the findings of this joint survey titled, The Impact of Exchange Traded Products on the Financial Advisory Industry is available to financial professionals registered at www.spdru.com.

About State Street Global Advisors

State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), delivers investment strategies and integrated solutions to clients worldwide across every asset class, investment approach and style. With $2 trillion in assets under management at March 31, 2008, State Street Global Advisors has investment centers in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, Toronto, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Zurich, and offices in 27 cities worldwide. For more information, visit State Street Global Advisors at www.ssga.com.

About SPDR® University

SPDR University is a FREE online educational resource dedicated to providing investment professionals with the education and training they need to stay ahead of the market and be precisely in turn with their clients. Log on to SPDR University to access rich educational content and start earning CE credits anytime, from anywhere. Download client-ready materials, webcasts, interactive presentations, succinct materials, audiocasts, and research papers. To register, go to www.spdru.com today.

About Knowledge@Wharton

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is committed to sharing its intellectual capital through Knowledge@Wharton, the school’s online research and analysis journal. Knowledge@Wharton offers free access to analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and Wharton faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, conference overviews, book reviews, links to relevant content and a searchable database of more than 2,000 articles and research abstracts. Launched in May 1999, Knowledge@Wharton has evolved into a network of websites, with over 1.2 million subscribers across 200 countries.

About the Wharton School

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania — founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school — is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The school has more than 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 8,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 82,000 graduates.

Note to Editors: SPDR® Exchange Traded Funds

SPDR ETFs are a comprehensive family spanning an array of international and domestic asset classes. Offered by State Street Global Advisors, SPDR ETFs provide professional investors with the flexibility to select investments that are precisely aligned to their investment strategy. Recognized as the industry pioneer, State Street—in partnership with the American Stock Exchange—created the first ETF in 1993 (SPDR S&P 500 – Ticker SPY). Since then, we’ve sustained our place as an industry innovator through the introduction of many ground-breaking products, including first-to-market successes with gold, international real estate, international fixed income and sector ETFs. SPDR ETFs are managed by SSgA Funds Management, Inc, a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of State Street Bank and Trust Company.

ETFs trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk and will fluctuate in market value.

Frequent trading of ETFs could significantly increase commissions and other costs such that they may offset any savings from low fees or costs.

The “SPDR®” trademark is used under license from The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”). No financial product offered by State Street Corporation or its affiliates is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by McGraw Hill.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. A prospectus that contains this and other information about the fund may be obtained by calling 866.787.2257. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Diversification does not protect against loss.

Distributor: State Street Global Markets, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. ALPS Distributors, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is distributor for SPDR shares, DOW Diamonds and Select Sector SPDRs, all unit investment trusts.

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