Innovation has been on display in the ETF industry in recent years, as various issuers have been active on the product development front in their efforts to bring new and exciting products to market. One area that has seen tremendous growth is the leveraged ETF space; investors have embraced the exchange-traded structure as an efficient means of amplifying exposure to everything from Chinese stocks (YINN, YANG) to gold (UGL, GLL) to long-term Treasuries (TBT, UBT).
In total, there are nearly 200 leveraged ETPs, covering dozen of different asset classes. But not all leveraged exchange-traded products utilize the same structure; there are some nuances across the roster of these funds that can have a significant impact on the risk/return profile offered. Most investors are aware of the differences between ETFs and ETNs, including distinctions in credit risk, tracking error, and sometimes tax ramifications as well. But some don’t realize that the reset frequency can also vary from product to product, and that the timing of such resets can have a major impact on the volatility and potential returns of a product. [click to continue…]
Investors poured into U.S. Treasuries last week as far worse than expected economic data from the manufacturing and housing sectors sent waves of anxiety through equity markets both in the U.S. and abroad. Surprisingly enough, amidst all the chaos even gold failed to climb much higher and the precious metal closed just above $1,540 for [...]
Investors have been slowly embracing exchange-traded products as a tool for accessing fixed income exposure in recent years, gradually becoming more comfortable with the nuances of bond ETFs and the potential limitations involved when combining this product structure and asset class. As long-term buy-and-holders have increased usage of ETFs as a way to maintain fixed [...]
ProShares continued to build out its suite of leveraged and inverse bond ETF offerings, debuting two new products on Thursday that offer leveraged exposure to corporate bonds. Those new additions to a rapidly-expanding ETF product lineup include options for investors seeking amplified exposure to both investment grade and high yield corporate debt.
Investors have taken up an increasingly bearish outlook towards fixed income in recent month, as inflationary pressures continue to build and an ongoing economic recovery has increased the likelihood of rate hikes before the end of 2011. The last several weeks have seen ETF issuers roll out a number of products designed to offer inverse [...]
Direxion, one of the largest issuers of 2x and 3x leveraged ETFs, announced the launch of three products offering daily inverse exposure to fixed income benchmarks. The new -1x Direxion ETFs include:
ProShares, the Maryland-based firm known for a suite of leveraged and inverse ETFs, has launched the first ETF offering daily inverse exposure to junk bonds. The ProShares Short High Yield (SJB) will seek to deliver daily results that correspond to -100% of the daily change in the iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index. That index [...]
U.S. ETF assets topped $1 trillion for the first time in December, as a year-end rally in global equity markets and another strong month of inflows pushed the industry past the milestone. ETF assets also finished the year above this key mark, according to the latest data from the National Stock Exchange, representing an increase [...]
Direxion, one of the largest providers of leveraged ETFs, has been extremely active on the product development front in 2010, rolling out a number of products that offer investors an opportunity to double down (or triple down) on various asset classes. But the company’s product line will shrink a bit in coming weeks, as firm [...]
JPMorgan, the financial behemoth responsible for the first exchange-traded product offering exposure to the MLP sector, expanded its ETN lineup on Tuesday by introducing two products offering inverse leveraged exposure to Treasuries. The new ETNs, the Double Short U.S. Long Bond Treasury Futures ETN (DSTJ) and the Double Short U.S. 10 Year Treasury Futures ETN [...]
With lingering uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy, safe havens have generated a tremendous amount of interest this year. While much of the attention has focused on gold and its continued run to new record highs, it is another asset class that has stolen the show in 2010. Long-term Treasuries have climbed steadily [...]
