Guggenheim Investments to Close Nine Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in March

Firm Remains Committed to ETF Suite; Ranking as Eighth Largest U.S. ETF Provider is Unchanged

Affected Exchange Traded Funds Account for Approximately 1% of Guggenheim Investments' ETP Business

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that it will liquidate nine exchange traded funds (ETFs) in order to focus resources on products that have demonstrated the most marketplace demand.

Earlier this month, the Boards of Trustees of the Claymore Exchange Traded Fund Trust, the Claymore Exchange Traded Fund Trust 2 (together, the "Claymore ETF Trusts") and the Rydex ETF Trust approved the closing and subsequent liquidations of the selected ETFs. The average size of the nine closing ETFs is $16M, for a total of $144 million, roughly 1% of Guggenheim Investments' total $13.7 billion¹ in exchange-traded assets as of January 31, 2013.

The last day of trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca") for shares of the following ETFs is expected to be on Friday, March 15, 2013:

"Guggenheim remains committed to the ETF business, and this evolution is a natural and necessary part of the process to ensure we are meeting our clients' needs," said William Belden, managing director and head of product development. "We are dedicated to providing high quality investment solutions for our clients and our product development pipeline is positioned well to deliver unique ETF products," he continued. "Since January 1, 2012 through February 1, 2013, our equity and fixed-income ETF assets have increased $4.12 billion or 55%."

The last day of trading and the final date for creation and redemption activity for the nine liquidating ETFs is expected to be Friday, March 15, 2013. The ETFs will then be delisted from NYSE Arca prior to the start of trading on Monday, March 18, 2013. After being delisted and prior to the liquidation of the ETFs on or about Friday, March 22, 2012, shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem shares from the ETFs or purchase or sell them in the secondary market. Between the delisting date and the liquidation date, the affected Funds will be in the process of liquidating portfolio assets. Shareholders remaining in the affected ETFs as of close of business Thursday, March 21, 2013 will have their shares liquidated as of that date's closing net asset value.  The liquidation proceeds will be distributed on or about the following day, Friday, March 22, 2013. Liquidation proceeds will include any accrued capital gains and dividends. Shareholders remaining in the ETFs through March 22, 2013 will not be charged any transaction fees by the ETFs for the distribution of the final Fund proceeds. The net asset value of each affected ETF on Thursday, March 21, 2013 will reflect expenses encountered in closing the ETF.

About Guggenheim Investments

Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners ("Guggenheim"), which consists of investment managers with approximately $143 billion in combined total assets^*. Collectively, Guggenheim Investments has a long, distinguished history of serving institutional investors, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and financial intermediaries. Guggenheim Investments offers clients a wide range of differentiated capabilities built on a proven commitment to investment excellence. Guggenheim Investments has offices in Chicago, New York City and Santa Monica, along with a global network of offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Guggenheim Investments offers investors a broad range of ETPs—domestic and international equity, fixed-income and currency—to provide the core building blocks for portfolios, access to hard-to-reach market segments, as well as targeted investment choices. 

Read an ETF's prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the ETF's investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) for the ETFs and other funds distributed by Guggenheim Distributors, LLC and Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC  at guggenheiminvestments.com or call 888.WHY.ETFs.

ETFs may not be suitable for all investors. ● Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate so that when shares are redeemed, they may be worth more or less than original cost. Most investors will also incur customary brokerage commissions when buying or selling shares of an ETF. ● Investments in securities and derivatives, in general, are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. ● ETF Shares may trade below their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of an ETF's holdings. In addition, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. ● Tracking error risk refers to the risk that the Advisor may not be able to cause the ETF's performance to match or correlate to that of the ETF's Underlying Index, either on a daily or aggregate basis. Tracking error risk may cause the ETF's performance to be less than you expect.

Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management businesses of Guggenheim Partners, LLC ("GP"), which includes Security Investors, LLC ("SI") and Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, ("GFIA"), the investment advisers to the referenced funds. Guggenheim Distributors, LLC and Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC are affiliated with GP, SI and GFIA.

* The total asset figure is as of 12/31/2012 and includes $10.71B of leverage for Assets Under Management and $0.85B of leverage for Serviced Assets. Total assets include assets from Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors and its affiliated entities, and some business units including Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, Guggenheim Aviation, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, Transparent Value Advisors, LLC, and Guggenheim Partners India Management. Values from some funds are based upon prior periods.