K Plan Provider Adds ETFs

September 2, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and Invest n Retire, LLC, announced that NASDAQ exchange traded funds (ETFs) based on NASDAQ indices have been added as investment options in Invest n Retire's 401(k) platform.

Invest n Retire, an online 401(k) service provider, designed a methodology to use ETFs in 401(k) plans without passing most commissions onto participants. Invest n retire said in a news release that the use of proprietary software, the latest technologies, and its working relationships with service providers helped it offer the options at a competitive price.

Invest n Retire’s retirement platform, the “401(k) Solution,” includes online enrollment, investment education, daily valuation, trading and rebalancing, administration, custody services, and institutional investment options.

“Investor demand compelled us to find a way for investors to attempt to meet their investment goals and objectives while defraying costs associated with similar investments,” said Darwin Abrahamson, founder & CEO of Invest n Retire. “We expect the use of ETFs in retirement plans to grow dramatically as investors seek alternative investment options.”

Like a traditional mutual fund, an ETF is a basket of stocks that allows investors to buy an interest in a portfolio of securities. Four ETFs have been added, according to the announcement:

  • Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Tracking Stock, which provides investors exposure to large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks listed on NASDAQ.
  • NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock, which tracks one-hundred of the fastest growing non-financial services companies listed on NASDAQ
  • BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund, designed to correspond with the price and yield performance of the depositary receipts comprising The Bank of New York Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index
  • BLDRS Developed Markets 100 ADR Index Fund, designed to correspond with the depositary receipts comprising the price and yield performance of The Bank of New York Developed Markets 100 ADR Index.

«