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.
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