ProFunds, well known in the industry for its ETFs, has added two indexed mutual funds to its lineup. The UltraLatin America and the UltraShort Latin America both track the BNY Latin America 35 ADR index.

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ProFunds Group, a $16 billion provider of innovative index-based mutual funds and ETFs, announced the opening of two new mutual funds for investors interested in Latin American markets. The new short fund is the first to offer the opportunity to seek profit from potential declines in Latin American equities. The new long fund makes it easy for investors with the opposite point of view to gain magnified exposure to those markets.

"Substantial gains in Latin American markets over the past few years have fueled investor interest in those countries. At the same time, at ProFunds Group we have seen tremendous interest in sophisticated strategies like shorting and using leverage,” said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProFund Advisors, LLC. “Our new funds make it easier for investors to use these strategies to act on their viewpoints on the Latin American markets—whether they are optimistic or pessimistic.”

An investor who expects a dip in Latin American markets could use the UltraShort Latin America ProFund to seek profit from the downturn or to hedge his equity positions in Latin America. An investor with the strong conviction that the markets are headed higher could use the UltraLatin America ProFund to get about twice the exposure for his investment dollar. And, because ProFunds does not place restrictions on how often investors can trade among the more than 60 ProFunds, investors can easily adjust their exposure as their viewpoints change. Investors seeking to hedge gains should understand that they may need to make adjustments to their UltraShort Latin America holdings to maintain a specific level of short exposure over time. Also, the fund has fees, expenses and tax consequences of its own, and exchanges among ProFunds may have tax consequences.

About the BNY Latin America 35 ADR Index

The Bank of New York Latin America 35 ADR Index is designed to track performance of a basket of companies who have their primary equity listing on a stock exchange of a Latin American country and who also have Depositary Receipts that trade on a U.S. exchange or on the NASDAQ. The Index currently consists of the following Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. As of October 10, 2007 the Index included companies with capitalizations between $3 billion and $176 billion. The average capitalization of the companies comprising the Index was approximately $37 billion.

About ProFunds Group

ProFunds Group, located in Bethesda, MD, includes both ProFunds mutual funds with $7.7 billion in assets under management and ProShares ETFs with $8.3 billion. ProFunds, the nation’s largest line-up of indexed mutual funds,1 offers more than 60 fund choices. The 52 ProShares are the only ETFs designed to provide built-in short or magnified exposure to a variety of well-known indexes. Since 1997, ProFunds has provided mutual fund investors with easier access to sophisticated investment strategies, with offerings that include mutual funds that seek to magnify daily index performance and funds that seek to increase in value when markets decline. ProFunds Group describes the portfolio managers common to ProFund Advisors LLC, advisor to ProFunds mutual funds, and ProShare Advisors LLC, advisor to ProShares ETFs. More information on ProFunds is available at www.profunds.com and on ProShares at www.proshares.com.

More About UltraShort Latin America ProFund

UltraShort Latin America ProFund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to twice (200%) the inverse (opposite) of daily performance of The Bank of New York Latin America 35 ADR Index. UltraShort Latin America ProFund determines its success in meeting this investment objective by comparing its daily return on a given day with the daily performance of the Index. If UltraShort Latin America ProFund is successful in meeting its objective, its net asset value should gain approximately twice as much, on a percentage basis, as any decrease in the daily performance of the Index. Conversely, its net asset value should lose approximately the same amount, on a percentage basis, as any increase in the daily performance of the Index when the Index rises on a given day.

More about UltraLatin America ProFund

UltraLatin America ProFund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of The Bank of New York Latin America 35 ADR Index. UltraLatin America ProFund determines its success in meeting this investment objective by comparing its daily return on a given day with the daily performance of the Index. If UltraLatin America ProFund is successful in meeting its objective, its net asset value should gain approximately twice as much, on a percentage basis, as any increase in the daily performance of the Index. Conversely, its net asset value should lose approximately the same amount, on a percentage basis, as any decrease in the daily performance of the Index when the Index declines on a given day.

Investing in ProFunds involves certain risks, including in all or some cases, leverage, liquidity, concentration, non-diversification, foreign investment, foreign currency, high yield, interest rate, credit, market, correlation, aggressive investment technique and repurchase agreement risks. These risks can increase volatility and decrease performance. All ProFunds permit active investment strategies which can decrease performance and increase expenses. Further, an investment in these ProFunds entails the special risks of investing in securities of issuers based in countries with developing economies. Investing in such emerging market securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, the risks of investing in domestic securities or in foreign, developed countries. Most Latin American countries have experienced severe and persistent levels of inflation (and, in some cases, hyperinflation), which has led to high interest rates, extreme governmental measures to keep inflation in check, and a generally negative effect on economic growth. Additionally, many Latin American countries have experienced political instability. Mid capitalization stocks typically carry additional risk, since smaller companies have higher risk of failure and, historically, their stocks have experienced a greater degree of volatility. Please see the prospectuses for a more complete description of these risks. These funds do not constitute a complete investment program and they may not be suitable for all investors.

Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of ProShares and ProFunds before investing. This and other information can be found in their prospectuses. Read the prospectus(es) carefully before investing. For a ProShares ETF prospectus, visit www.proshares.com and seek advice from you financial advisor or broker dealer representative. Financial professionals can also call 866-PRO-5125. For a ProFunds mutual funds prospectus, call 888-PRO-FNDS (individual investors) or 888-PRO-5717 (financial professionals) or visit www.profunds.com. Read the prospectus(es) carefully before investing. ProFunds Distributors, Inc. is distributor for ProFunds mutual funds. ProShares ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co, which is not affiliated with any ProFunds Group affiliate.

Notes:

¹ Source: Lipper. October 12, 2006. Lipper defines "Indexed Fund" as an open-end mutual fund which is pure index, enhanced index or index-based but is not an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). 

Edited by: Erin Kello


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