Promark Income Fund Frequently Asked Questions

Q.  What is the Promark Income Fund?
A.  The Promark Income Fund is a bank-maintained collective investment fund (the “Fund”) managed by General Motors Trust Bank, N.A. (“GMTB”) with a stable value investment strategy. The Fund’s investment objective is to provide income consistent with the preservation of capital.

Q.  How is my money invested?
A.  The Fund invests in investment grade and non-investment grade fixed-income securities, and may purchase and sell derivative instruments for interest rate risk management, all of which is insured by wrap contracts issued by several highly-rated insurance companies. A portion, usually less than 5% of the Fund, is invested primarily in short-term fixed income instruments without the associated wrap contract, in order to meet the liquidity needs of the Fund, such as to handle withdrawal requests by participants on any given day.

Q.  What are “wrap contracts”?
A.  "Wrap contracts” are contracts related to specified assets and are designed to provide (i) protection of principal and accumulated interest, (ii) payment of an interest rate for a specified period of time and (iii) payment of participant initiated withdrawals and transfers at book value (i.e. principal plus accrued interest).

Q.  Who are the current issuing companies of the “wrap contracts”?
A.  As of September 30, 2008, the issuing companies of wrap contracts were Monumental Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of AEGON N.V. (AEGON), ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company, a subsidiary of ING Group N.V. (ING), and Pacific Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Pacific LifeCorp and Pacific Mutual Holding Co. (PACIFIC LIFE).

Q.  What are the financial strength ratings of the issuing companies?
A.  The financial strength ratings as of September 30, 2008 are as follows:

Issuer Moody's Rating S&P Rating
 AEGON Aa3 AA
 ING Aa3 AA
 PACIFIC LIFE Aa3 AA

 

 

 


The issuing companies and their ratings are subject to change without notice.

Q.  What happens if an Issuer’s contract is terminated?
A.  Actions that GMTB could take include selecting a new insurance issuer, selecting a bank issuer, or asking the existing issuers to wrap a larger percentage of the assets. There are currently three issuers of the wrap contracts, in part to protect against the risk of termination.

Q.  Who makes the investment decisions for the Fund?
A. GMTB may delegate day-to-day investment decisions with respect to the Fund’s assets to one or more investment managers, which may include investment managers affiliated with GMTB, such as General Motors Investment Management Corporation. As of September 30, 2008, there are 20 investment managers for the Fund.

Q.  What is the specified rate of return for the Fund?
A.  An investment in the Fund is expected to earn a specified rate of return (“specified rate”). The specified rate is computed net of all fees and expenses (which may include certain plan expenses) and is reset periodically, typically each calendar quarter. The specified rate is based upon factors such as the
anticipated performance on the Fund’s assets for the relevant time period, the market value of the assets held by the Fund, and anticipated liquidity needs (based on historical purchase/redemption rates). The rate may change from quarter to quarter and the accrued income earned from the specified rate of return is covered by the wrap contracts.

Q.  What is the current specified rate?
A.  The specified rate as of October 1, 2008 is 4.15%. As stated above, the rate is subject to change and is reset periodically, typically each calendar quarter and can fluctuate each quarter based upon factors such as the anticipated performance of the Fund’s assets for the relevant time period, interest rates, the market value of the assets held by the Fund, and the anticipated liquidity needs.

Q.  What is the overall weighted average credit rating and weighted average duration* of the wrapped assets?
A.  As of September 30, 2008 the average credit rating of the wrapped assets was “A”, and the average effective duration was 4.0 years.**

Q.  What are the sector weightings of the Fund?
A.  As of September 30, 2008, the Fund’s weightings were 36.5% in Corporates, 25.8% in Mortgage and other Asset-Backed, 20.5% in Government/Agency, 11.5% in High Yield and 5.7% in Short Term securities.***

Q.  What is the percentage of subprime exposure of the Fund?
A.  Using a very broad definition of “subprime”, the Fund’s exposure as of September 30, 2008 to such assets is approximately 3%, which is currently not expected to increase. To help mitigate against any adverse impact from its “subprime” exposure, the Fund has been increasing its exposure to government securities.

Notes:

*Duration is defined as the sensitivity of a fixed income security’s price to changes in interest rates expressed as a number of years.

**Weighted average credit rating of the securities comprising the wrapped assets using ratings by at least one of Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch Inc., or if unrated, deemed by the Fund manager to be of equivalent quality.

***The Fund’s weightings are based on their dollar value in the Fund’s portfolio as of the reporting date. The sector listing is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities in the sectors listed or a suggestion regarding profitability. There is no assurance that this information will not change.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Promark Income Fund before investing. Funds investing in fixed income instruments are subject to risks including, but not limited to, credit quality, interest rates, and mortgage prepayment risk. Investments in noninvestment grade fixed income securities are subject to significantly greater credit risk, price volatility, and liquidity risk, and may fluctuate in value more than higher quality bonds. For more information regarding this fund, including additional risk factors, please refer to the GM PSP of S-SPP Prospectus.

Information related to the Fund has been provided by GMTB. The Fund is not a mutual fund and is therefore not registered as an investment company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal DepositInsurance Corporation or any other government agency. This document is not an offer to invest or a solicitation of an offer to invest in the Fund or any other security.

Except as otherwise indicated, information herein is as of September 30, 2008, and there is no implication that such information will be the same as of any time subsequent to such date. Information was provided by General Motors Corporation. Mainstay Capital Management is not responsible for its content.


 
 
 
Home | About Us | Free Information Kit | Contact Us | Careers
Important Disclosures
Privacy Statement
Copyright © 2002-2008 Mainstay Capital Management, LLC.  All rights reserved.
10775 South Saginaw, Grand Blanc, Michigan 48439