Formed in 2002 through the acquisition of Nuveen's equity ETF business, PowerShares Capital Management LLC (PowerShares) is a securities research and asset management firm headquartered in the Chicago area. PowerShares is committed to providing theoretically sound and empirically valid asset management concepts and investment products.

The firm is rooted in its use of sophisticated quantitative factor analysis and model development to enhance investment decisions, using a variety of powerful proprietary tools. These tools and factors range from intricate valuation models to behavioral models analyzing investor sentiment.

PowerShares offers a product line of exchange-traded funds which replicate alpha seeking indexes. These ETFs provide both institutional and individual investors an alternative to traditional benchmark ETFs, and because of their performance objective, to actively managed mutual funds, but in a more efficient vehicle.

In addition, PowerShares is the investment advisor to a market-neutral hedge fund whose objective is to provide alpha through sector-specific models in all market conditions through a long-short portfolio.

PowerShares has a sales and distribution division which utilizes both inside and outside contact with clients, as well as leveraging technology to build awareness through email and media campaigns. PowerShares manages 70 ETFs and has distributed over $9 billion in assets as of 2.28.2007.