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…]
Direxion, one of the leading issuers of leveraged ETFs, announced reverse splits for six of its 3x bear funds. Five of the leveraged products will undergo 1-for-5 reverse splits for shareholders of record after the close of the markets on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011: Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares (FAZ) Daily Large Cap Bear 3x [...]
ProShares, the ETF issuer known for its 2x leveraged and inverse ETFs, announced today the launch of eight new 3x and -3x leveraged ETFs covering four major U.S. equity indexes. The benchmarks covered by the new ETFs include the NASDAQ-100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P MidCap 400, and Russell 2000.
ProShares, the issuer responsible for pioneering leveraged and inverse ETFs, has filed prospectuses for 16 new funds. Expansion is nothing new for ProShares–the company has launched a handful of new ETFs over the last year–but the filing was interesting because it detailed plans for 300% leveraged ETFs. ProShares’ current product line, which consists of more [...]
Leveraged ETFs have been in the news a great deal lately, although the majority of the coverage has been less than flattering. Over the last week, several prominent financial institutions have ceased purchasing leveraged ETFs on behalf of their clients, citing the incompatibility of the short-term nature of these products with their long-term views on [...]
Leveraged ETFs have quickly become the hot-button issue in the ETF industry, dividing investors and observers into two distinct camps. On the one side are sophisticated day traders who believe these funds, which use derivatives and other complex financial instruments to provide amplified daily returns on a target index, are the greatest thing since sliced bread. And on [...]
In the week during which the Obama administration will unveil details surrounding its plan to revamp the regulation of the U.S. financial sector, calls for increased oversight of the ETF industry are picking up steam as well. Scott Burns, director of ETF Analysis at Morningstar, recently laid out a case for increased regulatory requirements for ETFs [...]
