The Canadian ETF Association Strengthens Its Membership

TORONTO, March 8, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian ETF Association (CETFA) is proud to announce that four new members have joined the association, including XTF Capital, the ETF subsidiary of First Asset Capital Corp.

As a full member of CETFA, XTF Capital will fill one of the managing director positions on the board, and participate equally with existing members in all operational and policy matters within CETFA.

"We're very excited to have XTF Capital join CETFA," said Howard Atkinson, Chair of the CETFA, and CEO of Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. "They are the fourth full member of the association, and while a relatively new player in the ETF industry, they have established themselves as a leading independent Canadian asset manager and bring a strong depth of experience which will greatly benefit CETFA."

"We are very pleased to have been invited to join CEFTA, which is doing great work to educate investors on the merits of ETFs and speak as a unified voice with regulators," said Barry Gordon, President of XTF Captial and First Asset Capital Corp.

The CETFA also welcomes three new affiliate members. RBC Dexia Investor Services Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and CIBC Mellon have all taken on affiliate memberships in the organization. Affiliate members do no sit on the board of directors but enjoy most of the same privileges as full members, such as participation in its various committees and input on CETFA policy direction.

The new affiliate members join Investor Economics and ETF Insight, which joined the organization as affiliate members earlier this year.

"Our new affiliate members represent some of the most respected and well-known investment-focused entities in Canada. With their partnership we feel we've really strengthened the impact the CETFA will have on the Canadian investment landscape," Mr. Atkinson said.

To support its expanded size, the CETFA has already launched its new website at www.cetfa.ca which aims to be the Canadian Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Industry's leading source for relevant ETF information and asset under management (AUM) statistics.

"One of the core mandates of the CETFA is to be a leading authority for ETF education and ETF-related data," said Mr. Atkinson. "Our website is going to be an important part of this initiative. Our goal is that anyone who is interested in Canadian ETFs, whether they are investors, regulators, or even members of the financial media, will use our website frequently as a resource."

Currently the website features educational materials that investors can read to learn more about CETFA and the role ETFs can play in an investor's portfolio. CETFA expects to expand these resources in the coming months and use the website as a launch pad for a number of exciting educational initiatives.

The website also houses CETFA's monthly sales and AUM reporting statistics, and has already posted the sales data for February, 2012 which is now available on the website at (http://www.cetfa.ca/infocentre/stats.html). This data will be updated monthly and will provide an industry snapshot of Canadian ETF sales and AUM metrics for the previous month including total net sales for the industry, the top 25 ETF asset gathers and the assets under management for each ETF provider.

About CETFA (www.cetfa.ca)

The Canadian ETF Association is the national body of exchange traded fund providers. Canadian investors have over $40 billion invested in more than 200 Canadian-listed ETFs. As ETF usage continues to grow in Canada, CETFA will seek to educate Canadians on the appropriate usage of exchange traded funds, as well as work proactively with members and regulators to ensure the ETF industry adopts best practice standards. Full Membership in CETFA is open to all Canadian ETF providers and supporting service providers to the ETF industry may also join as affiliate members.

Pat Dunwoody, General Manager, Canadian ETF Association Email: [email protected] Phone: [phone]