ETF Database » SEF

ProShares Launches Inverse, Leveraged Regional Bank ETFs

Michael Johnston — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:37:05 +0000

ProShares continues to be one of the most active ETF issuers of 2010, announcing the launch on Thursday of the first inverse and leveraged ETFs offering exposure to regional banks. The Ultra KBW Regional Banking (KRU) will seek daily returns equal to 200% of the return on the KBW Regional Banking Index, while the Short KBW Regional Banking (KRS) will seek to provide -100% of the return on the same benchmark. The index to which the new ETFs is linked is currently tracked by the SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF, the largest and most heavily-traded regional bank ETF. This benchmark is an equal-weighted index that consists of about 50 regional banks. KRU and KRS join a number of existing leveraged and inverse financial ETFs in the ProShares lineup. The Short Financials (SEF), Ultra Financials (UYG), and UltraShort Financials (SKF) are all linked to the more broad-based Dow Jones U.S. Financials [...]

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Financial ETFs Under Fire As Derivatives Showdown Heats Up

Michael Johnston — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:20:35 +0000

Since the global equity markets bottomed out in March 2009, the financial sector has been one of the top-performing corners of the U.S. economy. After being hammered as fears of a financial meltdown spread through Wall Street, big banks have recovered to strengthen their balance sheets, begin reporting profits once again, and even pay back big chunks of government bailout funds. After the passage of a comprehensive health care reform earlier this year, the financial sector appeared to be one of the indirect beneficiaries. With the Obama administration seemingly spending all of its political capital to muscle health care legislation through, many investors expected a long-simmering financial overhaul to lose some of its bite. But so far, that hasn’t been the case. Democrats are pushing ahead with a plan to drastically change the way Wall Street banks trade derivatives, a move that some worry may eat into the bottom line [...]

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ProShares Planning Short, Leveraged Regional Bank ETFs

Michael Johnston — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:19:26 +0000

ProShares, a leading provider of inverse and leveraged ETFs, has filed for approval on seven addition ETFs, including four “ultra” international ETFs and three products focusing on a popular regional bank index. The international ETFs complement four existing 200% inverse products, and include: Ultra MSCI Brazil: Seeks daily returns equal to 200% of the daily returns on the MSCI Brazil Index. Ultra Pacific ex-Japan: Seeks daily returns equal to 200% of the daily returns on the MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index. Ultra MSCI Europe: Seeks daily returns equal to 200% of the daily returns on the MSCI Europe Index. Ultra MSCI Mexico Investable Market: Seeks daily returns equal to 200% of the daily returns on the MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index. In June 2009, ProShares launched UltraShort products that seek to deliver 200% of the inverse of daily returns of the same four indexes. iShares currently offers ETFs designed to replicate [...]

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Five ETFs For The Next Recession

Michael Johnston — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:36 +0000

Despite still rising unemployment, abysmal consumer confidence, and signs of ongoing crises around the world, there is little doubt, at least technically speaking, that the recession is finally over in most of the world. The downturn proved to be far more severe and prolonged than many had imagined, leaving its mark on even the most conservative of investors. Diversification across asset classes provided little benefit, as bonds and real estate fell along with equity markets. Geographical diversification also did little to protect investor assets, as correlations between most developed and emerging markets shot towards 1.0. But not all investments saw huge losses during the most recent recession. Some actually enjoyed tremendous gains, benefiting from strong negative correlations with traditional asset classes and bucking the trend to deliver positive results. Perhaps the best-known example is the Black Swan Fund run by 36 South Investment Managers Ltd. that delivered tremendous returns during [...]

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This Week In ETFs: November 6th Edition

Eric Dutram — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:07:22 +0000

It’s been an interesting week in the world of ETFs: U.S. unemployment hit 10.2%, the highest since 1983, while gold traded around $1100/oz. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web: How Safe are ETNs? at ETF Guide: This article discusses the basics of Exchange Traded Notes, or ETNs for short, and the risks that are associated with these unsecured debt instruments. While the benefits of ETNs include minimal tracking error and favorable tax treatment, there are a few downsides to these notes. First off, there are rumors that the tax rules will be changed thanks to a recent adverse tax ruling on the product class from the IRS, forcing ETNs to be classified as debt rather than prepaid contracts as they are now. Another risk is that of credit default. While this seems minimal given the strength of [...]

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The Definitive Inverse ETF Guide: Short/Bear ETFs 101

Andy H — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:20 +0000

As the stock market continues to rise, seemingly running ahead of fundamentals, more and more investors are becoming concerned that the stocks are becoming overvalued, and that a downward correction may be just around the corner. While safe haven investments such as the U.S. dollar and gold are popular picks for investors looking to profit from a decline in asset prices, the inverse correlation between these investments and equities is far from perfect. A growing number of investors are beginning to utilize inverse ETFs to accomplish a wide range of investment goals, ranging from establishing hedges in their portfolios to speculating on a pullback in prices. If used correctly, these products can be very powerful, but they can be complex and come with a number of risks that should be carefully considered. Taking a short position in certain asset classes is, of course, noting new. Investors have been utilizing short [...]

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ETF Database » SEF

ProShares Launches Inverse, Leveraged Regional Bank ETFs

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Financial ETFs Under Fire As Derivatives Showdown Heats Up

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ProShares Planning Short, Leveraged Regional Bank ETFs

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Five ETFs For The Next Recession

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This Week In ETFs: November 6th Edition

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The Definitive Inverse ETF Guide: Short/Bear ETFs 101

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