NASDAQ Indexes are the Underlying Benchmarks for Two Morningstar Award-Winning ETFs: PowerShares QQQ and the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index Fund

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. NDAQ, parent of the world's first electronic stock market and a leading index provider, today announced that NASDAQ indexes are the benchmarks for two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that have won Morningstar awards for being the best ETFs for institutional investors in their respective categories.

The NASDAQ-100 Index^® NDX is the basis for PowerShares QQQ^® QQQ, which Morningstar cited as the best ETF in the Large Growth category.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index^® NBI is the underlying benchmark for the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index Fund IBB, which Morningstar determined was the best ETF in the US Health category.

The Morningstar Awards for ETFs are based on a quantitative process created to measure an ETF's ability to track its index and the ease of trade. The awards emphasize an ETF's ability to match its index with minimal expenses, tracking error and trading costs with less focus on historic returns. Morningstar has given two awards for each category, a retail award and an institutional award. Each category winner is intended to highlight the use of Morningstar data to assess the suitability of ETFs for different types of investors.

"We are elated to have two ETFs based on our indexes win Morningstar Awards," said John Jacobs, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes. "NASDAQ OMX is dedicated to creating world-class indexes that deliver unsurpassed transparency into the equity markets and meet the needs of our customers."

Morningstar announced the ETF winners recently at its third annual investor conference in Chicago, Illinois on October 4, 2012.

About NASDAQ OMX Group

The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 25 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.99% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to approximately 3,400 listed companies worth $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn more, visit www.nasdaqomx.com. Follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). NDAQ

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's indexes and other products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

NASDAQ^®, NASDAQ-100^®, NASDAQ-100 Index^®, QQQ^® and NASDAQ Biotechnology Index^® are registered trademarks of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (which with its affiliates and subsidiaries is collectively "NASDAQ OMX") and are licensed for use by PowerShares and iShares respectively. Neither the PowerShares QQQ^® nor the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index Fund (collectively, the "ETFs") has been passed on by the NASDAQ OMX as to its legality or suitability. The ETFs are not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by NASDAQ OMX. NASDAQ OMX makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the ETFs.

The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice, either on behalf of a particular security or an overall investment strategy. Neither The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. nor any of its affiliates (collectively "NASDAQ OMX") makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Statements regarding NASDAQ OMX's proprietary indexes are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing. Advice from a securities professional is strongly advised.

NDAQG