CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 04/07/10 -- Invesco PowerShares, a leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today the industry's first suite of ETFs offering sector-specific beta exposure to U.S. small-cap equities began trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The suite is comprised of nine ETF portfolios; each constructed to track a subset of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The ETF portfolio names and ticker symbols are listed below.

Ticker     Name of PowerShares Portfolio
XLYS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary Portfolio
XLPS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Consumer Staples Portfolio
XLES       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy Portfolio
XLFS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Financials Portfolio
XLVS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Health Care Portfolio
XLIS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Industrials Portfolio
XLKS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Information Technology Portfolio
XLBS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Materials Portfolio
XLUS       PowerShares S&P SmallCap Utilities Portfolio

"We take great pride in being a leading ETF innovator, and are pleased to introduce a unique suite of small-cap sector portfolios that offer investors access to a vibrant portion of the U.S. equity universe," said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. "Over the long term, small-cap companies have outperformed large caps with much of this outperformance occurring during post-recessionary periods. We believe the PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector Portfolios provide investors a compelling new way to implement sector-based strategies using the beneficial ETF structure."

The nine PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector Portfolios are based upon respective S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Sector Indexes. Each Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the underlying index. The indexes are designed to measure the overall performance of common stocks of a respective sector. The S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Sector Indexes use a modified market-capitalization-weighted methodology and are rebalanced quarterly on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Constituents are replaced on an as-needed basis. Investing in securities of small-sized companies may involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in large companies.

The PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector Portfolios are based upon a subset of the constituents in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, which is a float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted index reflecting the U.S. small-cap equity universe. The constituents in the underlying sector indexes have met the qualifications for inclusion in the broader index to ensure that they are investable and financially viable. In order to qualify for inclusion, a stock must meet the following criteria at the time of their addition to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index:

• Size: Must have a market capitalization between $250 million and $1.2 billion
• Earnings: Must have four consecutive quarters of positive earnings
• Liquidity: Must have annual trading volume of at least 100% of its market cap
• Public Float: At least 50% of shares must be publicly available

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is Leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® through its family of more than 110 domestic and international exchange-traded funds, which seek to outperform traditional benchmark indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets over $43 billion as of Dec. 31, 2009, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at www.invescopowershares.com.

Invesco PowerShares is part of Invesco Ltd., a leading independent global investment management firm dedicated to helping people worldwide build their financial security. Invesco provides a comprehensive array of enduring investment solutions for retail, institutional and high-net-worth clients around the world. Operating in 20 countries, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "IVZ." Additional information is available at www.invesco.com.

There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including possible loss of money. Shares are not actively managed and are subject to risks similar to those of stocks. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.

Each Fund contains securities from its underlying sector-specific index. Companies engaged in the consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrials, information technology, basic materials, utilities and telecommunication services sectors are subject to greater risks, and are more greatly impacted by market volatility, than more diversified investments.

The Funds are non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a diversified fund.

Standard & Poor's® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P") and have been licensed for use by Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC. The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P or its affiliates, and S&P and its affiliates make no representation, warranty or condition regarding the advisability of buying, selling or holding units/shares in the Funds.

Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II.

PowerShares® is a registered trademark of Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC. Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC and Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of Invesco Ltd.

Shares are not individually redeemable and owners of the Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund and tender those Shares for redemption to the Fund in Creation Unit aggregations only, typically consisting of 50,000 Shares.

An investor should consider the Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For this and more complete information about the Funds, call 800 983 0903 or visit invescopowershares.com for a prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | No Bank Guarantee

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