Matrix Adds ETFs to Platform

September 30, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Matrix Settlement & Clearance Services, LLC has added Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to its trading platform for retirement plans.

A news release said that with security services offered through MSCS Financial Services, LLC, third-party administrators (TPAs) and advisors working with MSCS now can make available all ETFs trading on the New York and American Stock Exchanges to retirement plan participants. Advisors can add individual ETFs to a plan’s investment lineup, or use multiple ETFs to create portfolios or models, the announcement said.

MSCS is able to provide access in daily-valued plans through unitization. Receiving a daily closing unit value (NAV) for each ETF, advisors and TPAs can process ETF trades through their defined contribution platforms similar to standard mutual fund trades. 

MSCS unitizes the ETF assets separately for each plan, rather than commingling them across plans, yet is able to aggregate trades across multiple plans and block trade them directly to the exchange through MSCS Financial Services’ clearing dealer, the announcement said.

Matrix Settlement & Clearance Services, LLC ( www.mscsonline.com ), provides mutual fund settlement and clear­ance services for more than 12,000 mutual funds, and offers daily unitization for company stock, separately managed accounts, and model port­folios, as well as ETFs. MSCS also provides a multi-custo­dian individually directed account option for retirement plan participants. 

The company services assets of more than $35 billion, processing more than seven million mu­tual fund trades annually.

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