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January 3, 2005
Park Avenue Securities LLC Unveils New ETF Managed Solutions Program
NEW YORK, NY, January 3, 2005 — Park Avenue Securities LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), today unveiled a new asset management program exclusively utilizing Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
ETFs combine certain characteristics of index mutual funds and individual stocks. ETFs trade in the same manner that stocks do, throughout the day on major market exchanges. ETFs are also similar to index funds, as they represent a basket of stocks that mirror a particular index, asset class or market sector.
"The ETF Managed Solutions program will combine the advantages of ETFs with our experience in creating diversified asset management solutions for our customers," said James E. Clements, Senior Vice President and Head of Investment Advisory Services, Park Avenue Securities. "While we continue to broaden our offerings in each customer segment, this new offering builds upon our successful tradition in the investment management space."
Some of the features of the program include:
 | Tax-Efficiency and Trading Flexibility — ETFs have potential to be more tax-efficient than a traditional index fund. Mutual Fund shareholders purchase and redeem shares from the fund. With ETFs, investors buy and sell from one another on an exchange not with the fund. ETFs shareholders have more control over their tax destiny because they are less likely to be impacted by fellow shareholder purchases or redemptions. ETFs allow investors to create their own cost basis when they buy the shares. |
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| Low Expense ratios — ETFs have lower expense ratios than actively managed funds. |
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| Invest in an Entire Market Segment — ETFs are designed to closely follow and provide access to wide variety of indexes, asset classes or sectors. |
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| Continuous Pricing — The continuous pricing feature of ETFs is significant in that unlike traditional open-ended mutual funds, ETFs offer the same intra-day liquidity as other securities that trade on a major exchange. The benefit to investors is efficient pricing on an intra-day basis. |
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| Diversification — Diversification is one of the most effective ways to attempt to manage investment risk. Quite simply, it means spreading assets among a number of different investments in an effort to reduce the risk. |
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ETFs have become an attractive alternative to traditional index mutual funds. Although index funds are widely talked about for their low expenses relative to actively managed funds, ETFs are more cost efficient. Since higher costs directly impact the real rate of return, ETFs can enable an investor to enhance their passive portfolio's performance year after year and may generate a higher compound return.
About Park Avenue Securities LLC
Park Avenue Securities LLC is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser and broker dealer. Park Avenue Securities is located at 7 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004 and 81 Highland Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18017. Park Avenue Securities LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a mutual company founded in 1860. Guardian has earned consistently high ratings from independent agencies such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investor Services and A.M. Best Company. Park Avenue Securities is a member NASD, SIPC.
About The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Founded in 1860, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY (Guardian) is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. As of December 31, 2003, Guardian and its subsidiaries had $37.2 billion in assets. With more than 5,000 employees, approximately 3,000 financial representatives and nearly 100 agencies nationwide, Guardian and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), financial products and trust services. More information on Guardian can be obtained at: www.guardianlife.com.
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