State Street to Focus on SPDRs

SAN DIEGO – Sometimes, being old school isn’t such a bad thing. In the case of the burgeoning ETF business, it appears to be working for State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).

The company which in 1993 introduced the first U.S. listed ETF (SPY) has built an enviable menu of ETFs and continues to receive strong asset flows into those products.

As such, State Street has decided to fold its ETF business under one name, the SPDRs. The change allows the Boston-based investment firm to return to its original roots of promoting a solid and recognizable brand in the ETF marketplace.

While the first round of moves will impact the name for 23 funds, ticker symbols will remain the same. A second round of name adjustments for ETFs still operating under the streetTRACKS brand is expected later in the year.

“The new brand platform centers around the concept of precision in two ways,” said Tony Rochte, head of U.S. Intermediary Sales and Client Service at SSgA. “First, the suggestion of SPDRs’ product purity and second, what investors look for in an investment: A vehicle that helps them to precisely match their investment strategy.”

Many of State Street’s ETFs were operating under the streetTRACKS name, but the brand never really flourished.

SSgA ended 2006 with approximately $102 billion in 43 U.S. listed ETFs. The “SPDR” trademark is used under license from The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

New Names

–SPDR DJ Global Titans ETF (DGT)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Large Cap ETF (ELR)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Large Cap Growth ETF (ELG)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Large Cap Value ETF (ELV)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Mid Cap ETF (EMM)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Mid Cap Growth ETF (EMG)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Mid Cap Value ETF (EMV)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Small Cap ETF (DSC)

–SPDR DJ Wilshire Small Cap Growth ETF (DSG)