HS investor conferenceThe ISE-CCM Homeland Security Index lists on the NYSE as an ETF

The ISE-CCM Homeland Security Index, originally developed by Cronus Capital Markets (CCM) and the International Securities Exchange (ISE), has been listed on the NYSE as the FocusShares ISE-CCM Homeland Security ETF (NYSE: MYP). Cronus Capital Markets took part in the closing bell ceremony on 30 November 2007 as the ETF went live.

Exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) are open-ended investment companies that can be traded at any time throughout the course of the day. Index options on the ISE-CCM Homeland Security Index have been trading on the International Securities Exchange (ISE: HSX) since 2005 with Timber Hill LLC acting as the primary market maker.The ISE-CCM Homeland Security Index, with thirty components, measures the performance of companies primarily engaged in the business of contractual work with DHS, law enforcement agencies, or providing products or services for intelligence and warning; border and transportation security; domestic counterterrorism; protection of critical infrastructure; defense against catastrophic threats; and emergency preparedness and response. Michael Soni, President and CEO of Cronus Capital Markets, said that “Both individual and institutional investors will now have a direct avenue in which to participate in the growth of this important sector. Furthermore, investors will be able to hedge their portfolios against the risk of terrorism in a manner never before available.”

Bruce Aitken, president of the Homeland Security Industries Association (HSIA), said that “The HSIA is the leading U.S. trade association for homeland security companies and we are pleased to participate in the launch of the FocusShares ISE-CCM Homeland Security ETF as the only tradable pure investment product relating to Homeland Security. Homeland Security is the business of all businesses and of every U.S. citizen. Since 9/11 the business of homeland security has undergone a dramatic overhaul and America’s safety will continue to require cooperation between the public and private sectors. We believe that the FocusShares ISE-CCM Homeland Security ETF is a major step in the right direction.” Both Soni and Aitken remarked that the existence of a Homeland Security ETF will drive institutional investor attention in the direction of the Homeland Security sector in a much more focused way, ultimately leading to increased investment for companies with homeland security solutions.

Cronus Capital Markets (CCM) is headquartered in Toronto with offices in New York, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. It is an investment information firm operating in three divisions: CCM Indexes, CCM Research, and CCM Consulting.

FocusShares is an investment management company which says has built ETFs based on indexes from the International Securities Exchange (ISE). The ISE, the world’s largest equity options exchange, was founded on the principle that technology fosters and infuses new efficiencies and operational innovations into securities trading. After developing a market structure that integrated auction market principles into a screen-based trading system, the ISE launched the first fully electronic U.S. options exchange in May 2000.

HSIA has more than 700 members with chapters in several U.S. cities and also in Canada and Europe.