Scottrade's FocusShares® Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Focus™ Morningstar ETFs

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MONTVALE, N.J. & ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

FocusShares LLC, an affiliate of online investing services firm Scottrade Inc., today announced the one-year anniversary of its Focus™ Morningstar exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a family of 15 diverse, low-cost domestic equity ETFs benchmarked to Morningstar® Indexes.

Erik Liik, president and CEO of FocusShares LLC, says investors can use their favorite screener to compare the one-year performance of Focus Morningstar ETFs to other ETFs and mutual funds. (Photo: Business Wire)

During the 12-month period ending March 30, 2012, six Focus™ Morningstar ETFs had total returns of greater than 10 percent: Focus™ Morningstar Consumer Cyclical Index ETF (FCL), Focus™ Morningstar Consumer Defensive Index ETF (FCD), Focus™ Morningstar Health Care Index ETF (FHC), Focus™ Morningstar Real Estate Index ETF (FRL), Focus™ Morningstar Technology Index ETF (FTQ) and Focus™ Morningstar Utilities Index ETF (FUI). In addition, FLG rose 9.5 percent, compared to 8.5 percent for the S&P 500, while Focus™ Morningstar Mid Cap Index ETF (FMM) increased 3.3 percent, compared to 2 percent for the S&P MidCap 400.

“The one-year anniversary of Focus™ Morningstar ETFs marks an important milestone for FocusShares® and Scottrade,” said Erik Liik, president and CEO of FocusShares. “Focus™ Morningstar ETFs continue to gain traction among investors and advisors. Now all investors can use their favorite screener to compare our funds' one-year performance and other data with other ETFs and actively managed mutual funds.”

Focus™ Morningstar ETFs are today among the lowest cost ETFs available in their categories. In December 2011, ETF Database ranked the funds No. 1 among the “10 Most Useful New ETFs of 2011.”

Focus™ Morningstar ETFs seek to replicate the price and yield performance of indexes created by Morningstar Inc., which is known for its transparent, rules-based methodologies. The indexes are rooted in Morningstar's proprietary research.

Focus™ Morningstar ETFs Performance as of 3/31/12

                 
Symbol - Fund Name  

Market
Price
1-Yr

 

NAV
1-Yr

 

Net
Expense
Ratio

 

Gross
Expense
Ratio

FMU - Focus™ Morningstar US Market Index ETF   7.62%   7.69%   .05%   .15%
FLG - Focus™ Morningstar Large Cap Index ETF   9.51%   9.56%   .05%   .12%
FMM - Focus™ Morningstar Mid Cap Index ETF   3.31%   3.37%   .12%   .19%
FOS - Focus™ Morningstar Small Cap Index ETF   0.63%   0.61%   .12%   .19%
FBM - Focus™ Morningstar Basic Materials Index ETF   -11.60%   -11.60%   .19%   .26%
FCQ - Focus™ Morningstar Communication Services Index ETF   5.33%   5.20%   .19%   .26%
FCL - Focus™ Morningstar Consumer Cyclical Index ETF   15.51%   15.58%   .19%   .26%
FCD - Focus™ Morningstar Consumer Defensive Index ETF   16.89%   16.87%   .19%   .26%
FEG - Focus™ Morningstar Energy Index ETF   -6.73%   -6.65%   .19%   .26%
FFL - Focus™ Morningstar Financial Services Index ETF   -0.54%   -0.47%   .19%   .26%
FHC - Focus™ Morningstar Health Care Index ETF   15.67%   15.73%   .19%   .26%
FIL - Focus™ Morningstar Industrials Index ETF   1.45%   1.39%   .19%   .26%
FRL - Focus™ Morningstar Real Estate Index ETF   10.73%   10.65%   .12%   .19%
FTQ - Focus™ Morningstar Technology Index ETF   16.59%   16.29%   .19%   .26%
FUI - Focus™ Morningstar Utilities Index ETF   12.30%   12.31%   .19%   .26%

(Inception 03/30/2011) Performance data quoted above represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. For the most recent month end performance, please visit www.focusshares.com. The net expense ratio reflects a contractual agreement through December 30, 2012.

Shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market price returns are based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern time (when NAV is normally determined), and do not represent the return you would receive if you traded at other times.

FocusShares® is an affiliate of Scottrade®, the St. Louis-based online investing services firm. Online trading of Focus™ Morningstar ETFs is available commission-free to Scottrade® brokerage customers and registered investment advisors using Scottrade® Advisor Services as their custodian. Investors not affiliated with Scottrade® are subject to commission costs.

About FocusShares, LLC

FocusShares, LLC, is a registered investment advisor, exchange-traded funds sponsor and wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottrade Financial Services, Inc. FocusShares launched 15 Focus™ Morningstar ETFs in March 2011 that are based on Morningstar® US Market, Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap broad market indexes and 11 sector indexes, including Basic Materials, Communication Services, Consumer Cyclical, Consumer Defensive, Energy, Financial Services, Health Care, Industrials, Real Estate, Technology and Utilities. FocusShares, LLC, is based in Montvale, N.J. For more information, visit us at www.focusshares.com.

About Scottrade Financial Services, Inc.

Scottrade Financial Services, Inc. is the privately-held holding company for Scottrade, Inc., a leading online investing firm; Scottrade Bank, a provider of online retail banking products and services; and FocusShares, LLC, a registered investment advisor and exchange-traded funds sponsor. Scottrade, Inc. was founded in 1980 to provide investors with a better way to invest and make their own trading decisions. Today, it has the largest branch network among online investing firms and provides education to help millions of investors invest for themselves. Scottrade Bank was formed in 2008 to provide banking products and services to Scottrade customers. In 2010, Scottrade Financial Services, Inc. acquired FocusShares, which launched the Focus™ Morningstar ETFs in March 2011. Scottrade Financial Services, Inc. is based in St. Louis, Mo. For more information, visit us at www.scottrade.com.

Brokerage products and services offered through Scottrade, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 375,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar investment vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has nearly $180 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Dec. 31, 2011. The company has operations in 276 countries.

Morningstar® is a service mark of Morningstar, Inc. and has been licensed for use for certain purposes by FocusShares, LLC. The Focus™ Morningstar ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Morningstar, Inc., and Morningstar, Inc. makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such ETFs.

The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based, unmanaged measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average of 500 widely held common stocks. One cannot invest directly in an index.

ETFs are subject to commission costs each time a "buy" or "sell" is executed. Depending on the amount of trading activity, the low costs of ETFs may be outweighed by commissions and related trading costs.

Before investing in any Focus™ Morningstar ETF, you should carefully consider the applicable fund's investments objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the applicable fund's prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the FocusShares website at www.focusshares.com. Please read the fund prospectus carefully before you invest.

An investment in any Focus™ Morningstar fund is subject to risk, including the possible loss of principal amount invested. Sector funds tend to be riskier and more volatile than broad market funds because they are less diversified. Investments in mid- and small-capitalization companies may be more volatile than investments in larger companies. Concentrated fund investment will subject the Fund to a greater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or other developments than if its investments were diversified across different industry sectors. Each sector fund is subject to its own specific risk factors. See the prospectus for specific risks regarding each sector.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the distributor of the Focus™ Morningstar funds.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50226144&lang=en

FocusShares Communications Analyst
Jack Naudi, 314-965-1555 x 1276
Mobile: 314-409-7434
jnaudi@scottrade.com

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