State Street launches 5 new funds

State Street Global Advisors said that it is launching five new fixed-income exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that will begin trading tomorrow on the American Stock Exchange.

The firm is the investment management arm of State Street Corp., a Boston company that services institutional investors and manages financial assets worldwide.

The new offerings are a type of exchange-traded fund known as SPDRs or "spiders."

"Our new family of fixed-income SPDRs is designed to help investors create and manage well-diversified, cost-effective portfolios," Anthony Rochte, senior managing director of State Street Advisors, said in a statement. "Spanning the spectrum of short, intermediate, and long-term maturities and providing new access to T-bill and the 10-year-plus segment of the market, the fixed-income SPDRs are a compelling addition to our ETF offering."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)