PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio (PVI) Surpasses $1 Billion in AUM

October 1, 2009 11:06 AM EDT

CHICAGO, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/01/09 -- Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that on Friday, September 25, the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio (PVI) surpassed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM).

Launched in November of 2007, the PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio was the first ETF to provide investors access to the variable rate demand obligation (VRDO) market. VRDOs are floating-rate municipal bonds that offer investors tax-exempt income in a short-term time frame.

Historically, the VRDO market has generally been accessible only by institutional investors. Large trading denominations (generally starting at $100,000) created a barrier between VRDOs and the average investor. Invesco PowerShares took strides to eliminate that barrier by launching PVI.

"Invesco PowerShares has strived to provide investors access to markets that have traditionally been difficult to invest in, and we are very pleased with the success of PVI," said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of Invesco PowerShares. "The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio epitomizes our commitment to providing innovative investment products that feature the tax efficiency,(1) transparency,(2) and liquidity(3) benefits inherent to the ETF structure."

The PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio is based on the Thomson Municipal Market Data VRDO Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Index. The Index is designed to track the performance of a pool of tax-exempt VRDOs issued by municipalities in the United States on which the yields generally reset on a weekly basis. For additional information on PVI please visit http://www.invescopowershares.com/vrdo/.

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is leading the intelligent ETF revolution through its family of more than 110 domestic and international exchange-traded funds, which seek to outperform traditional benchmark indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets of $34.4 billion as of June 30, 2009, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at www.invescopowershares.com.

Invesco PowerShares is a wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a leading independent global investment management firm dedicated to helping people worldwide build their financial security. Invesco provides a comprehensive array of enduring investment solutions for retail, institutional and high-net-worth clients around the world. Operating in 20 countries, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "IVZ." Additional information is available at www.invesco.com.

There are risks involved with investing in ETFs, including possible loss of money. Shares are not actively managed and are subject to risks similar to those of stocks, including those regarding short selling and margin maintenance requirements. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.

(1) Invesco PowerShares does not offer tax advice. Please consult your own tax advisor for information regarding your own tax situation.

(2) ETFs disclose their full portfolio holdings daily.

(3) Shares are not individually redeemable and owners of the Shares may acquire those shares from the Funds and tender those shares for redemption to the Funds in Creation Unit aggregations only, typically consisting of 50,000 Shares.

There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including the possible loss of money. The investment return and principal value of an investment in PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly Portfolio will fluctuate so that shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Shares are not actively managed and are subject to risks similar to those of stocks, including those regarding short selling and margin maintenance requirements. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.

The Fund's use of a representative sampling approach will result in its holding a smaller number of bonds than are in the Fund's underlying Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of bonds held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the bonds in the Fund's underlying Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.

The Fund may not be fully invested at times, either as a result of cash flows into the fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions and expenses.

Variable Rate Debt Obligations Risk: There may not be an active secondary market with respect to particular variable rate instruments in which the Fund invests, which could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a variable rate instrument if the issuer and/or the Remarketing Agent defaulted on its payment obligation or during periods that the Fund is not entitled to exercise its demand rights, and the Fund could, for these or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to such instruments. Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer's ability to make payments of principal and/or interest. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders. Because many securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care, transportation and utilities, conditions in those sectors can affect the overall municipal market. In addition, changes in the financial condition of an individual municipal insurer can affect the overall municipal market. Please see the prospectus for more complete information regarding VRDOs and municipal securities.

Generally, the prices of income securities tend to fall as interest rates rise.

Shares are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Please see the prospectus for more complete information regarding an investment in the Fund.

Shares are not FDIC insured, may lose value and have no bank guarantee.

PowerShares® is a registered trademark of Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC (Invesco PowerShares). Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC and Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II.

An investor should consider the Fund's investment objective, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a copy of the prospectus which contains this and other information about the Fund, call 800.983.0903 or visit www.invescopowershares.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

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