Invesco PowerShares Announces Launch of Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQAL)

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Jan 20, 2015) - Invesco PowerShares Capital Management, LLC, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced the launch of the PowerShares Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQAL), which was listed on December 23, 2014 on the NYSE. EQAL seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index. The Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index is a trademark of Frank Russell Company and has been licensed for use by Invesco PowerShares.

The Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index provides exposure to the largest securities in the U.S. equity market on an equal weighted basis while maintaining greater diversification across sector groups. Rather than assigning an equal weight to each index constituent, Russell's sector equal weight methodology equally weights each sector within the index and then equally weights the companies within each sector.

"We are pleased to announce that we joined with Russell Indexes to further broaden our industry leading smart beta suite with the PowerShares Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQAL)," said Lorraine Wang, Invesco PowerShares Global Head of ETF Products & Research. "Russell has deep research capabilities and a rich history in index innovation over 30 years."

"We are excited that Invesco PowerShares has selected our Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index as the basis for a new smart beta ETF," said Ron Bundy, CEO of Russell Indexes. "The Russell suite of smart beta indexes are designed to provide investors with new ways of segmenting and tracking the global equity market beyond traditional market capitalization weighted indexes. We are glad to build on our relationship with PowerShares and pleased that investors now have more ways of tracking these indexes."

"Equal sector weighting can provide more diversification," added John Feyerer, Invesco PowerShares Vice President, Global Products and Research. "Additionally, with EQAL's net expense ratio less than half of the category average¹, advisors now have a product which offers low-cost access to a simple and transparent smart beta methodology."

PowerShares Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQAL) generally will invest at least 90% of its total assets in the common stocks that comprise the Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index. In determining the weightings of component securities the Index Provider applies a two-step equal weighting process. First the Index Provider separates the component securities of the Russell 1000^® Equal Weight Index into sector groups based on the Russell Global Sectors (the "RGS") classification system. There are nine sectors within the RGS classification and the Index Provider equally weights each sector group. Then, the Index Provider equally weights individual securities within each of those sector groups. Finally the Index Provider applies a screen to eliminate certain securities with limited available free float.

In recognition of the launch of EQAL, executives from Invesco PowerShares and business partners of the Firm will ring the NYSE Closing Bell on January 22, 2015.

To learn more about the PowerShares Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQAL) please visit http://pwr.sh/EQAL.

1 Source: Bloomberg, L.P., as of Nov. 14, 2014. The category average includes all US listed ETFs Focused on Equal Weighting Methodology as represented by occurrence of "equal Weight" within its name and includes a total of 16 funds. This represents the current average of base management fees charged annually for management company services. the data is usually extracted from the prospectus but may be provided from other sources when available.

About Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC and Invesco, Ltd.
Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution^® through its family of more than 170 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 of over $100 billion² as of November 30, 2014, PowerShares ETFs trade on both US stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at invescopowershares.com or follow us on Twitter @PowerShares.

Invesco Ltd. is a leading independent global investment management firm, dedicated to helping investors worldwide achieve their financial objectives. By delivering the combined power of our distinctive investment management capabilities, Invesco provides a wide range of investment strategies and vehicles to our clients around the world. Operating in more than 20 countries, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IVZ. Additional information is available at www.invesco.com.

2 US franchise assets include QQQs, BLDRS and DB Funds. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of PowerShares QQQ, BLDRS Funds and PowerShares DB Funds. PowerShares QQQ and BLDRS Funds are unit investment trusts. Invesco PowerShares and Invesco Distributors, Inc. are not affiliated with ALPS Distributors, Inc.

About Russell Indexes & Russell Investments

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offers actively managed multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Russell stands with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals working with their advisors -- using the firm's core capabilities that extend across capital market insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and indexes to help each achieve their desired investment outcomes.

Russell has more than $275 billion in assets under management (as of 9/30/2014) and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2.6 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 6/30/2014). It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 2,200 managers around the world. Russell traded more than $1.6 trillion in 2013 through its implementation services business. Russell also calculates approximately 700,000 benchmarks daily covering 98% of the investable market globally, including more than 80 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $5.2 trillion in assets are benchmarked (as of 12/31/2013) to the Russell Indexes, which have provided investors with 30 years of smarter beta.

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Russell operates globally, including through its offices in Seattle, New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Toronto, Chicago, San Diego, Milwaukee and Edinburgh. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow @Russell_News.

Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | No Bank Guarantee

Important Risk Information
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, including those regarding short selling and margin maintenance requirements. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.

The Fund's return may not match the return of the Underlying Index.

Smart Beta represents an alternative and selection index based methodology that seeks to outperform a benchmark or reduce portfolio risk, or both. Smart beta funds may underperform cap-weighted benchmarks and increase portfolio risk.

In general, equity values fluctuate, sometimes widely, in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.

Investments focused in a particular industry are subject to greater risk, and are more greatly impacted by market volatility than more diversified investments.

The Fund is subject to certain other risks. Please see the current prospectus for more information regarding the risk associated with an investment in the Fund.

The Russell 1000® Equal Weight Index is a trademark of Frank Russell Company and has been licensed for use by Invesco PowerShares. The Product is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Frank Russell Company and Frank Russell Company makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Product.

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.

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Invesco 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 (Invesco PowerShares) and Invesco Distributors, Inc. are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of Invesco Ltd.

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