ETF-fueled retirement plan launched

Efficient Market Advisors LLC of Del Mar, Calif., announced today the launch of the first 403(b) retirement program offering professionally managed portfolios of exchange traded funds. The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) approved the “Efficient 403(b)” for sale in all 982 California school districts, according to an EMA statement. Sacramento, Calif.-based CalSTRS is the largest teachers' retirement fund in the United States. Other states are expected to follow suit, according to the statement. 403(b) plans — which are similar to 401(k)s — are retirement plans for employees of certain tax-exempt organizations such as public schools, universities, hospitals and non-profit groups. "I am extremely pleased to bring a professionally managed and cost-sensitive vehicle to 403(b) participants in California,” Herb Morgan, chief executive of Efficient Market Advisors, said in the statement.