• ProShares launches the first 130/30 ETF
• Russell Investments files with SEC to create ETFs
• ETF Securities amends the filing for its gold ETF

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NEW LISTINGS

ProShares Launches First 130/30 ETF

A popular hedging strategy that aims at 130% long exposure to stocks and 30% short positions wrapped into a single portfolio is now available to exchange-traded fund investors.

The first such so-called 130/30 ETF, the ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 ETF (NYSEArca: CSM), launched on July 14. As its name implies, the portfolio will try to outperform traditional long-only funds by using a combination of leverage and short-selling.

While ProShares gained first-to-market status for ETFs, there's actually another exchange-traded product that competes in the same market. The First Trust Enhanced 130/30 Index exchange-traded note (NYSEArca: JFT) came out in May and shares a similar cost structure with the newer CSM.

The 130/30 strategy is used by many active managers, both on the institutional as well as retail fund level. It involves pairing 130% exposure to stocks a portfolio manager thinks will outperform the market with 30% short exposure to stocks a portfolio manager thinks will trail the market. The end portfolio retains 100% net exposure to the market, but aims to deliver alpha through smart stock-picking. CSM charges 0.95% in annual expenses.

For ProShares, CSM marks a departure from the rest of its ETF lineup, which consists of funds designed to deliver either leveraged or inverse exposure to different segments of the market. According to the firm, the new fund is the first of what will be an entire lineup of funds marketed as Alpha ProShares.

Read the prospectus for CSM here.

NEW FILINGS

iShares Planning Russell 200 ETFs

It looks like the Russell Top 200 Index might finally be the subject of not one, but three different ETFs.

Recent filings from Barclays Global Investors indicate that the firm is looking to launch three iShares funds that will track the Russell Top 200 Index, Russell Top 200 Growth Index and Russell Top 200 Value Index, respectively.

The Russell Top 200 is an index that, rather unsurprisingly, includes the top 200 companies by market capitalization in the Russell 3000 Index. One of the filings notes that as of the end of May, it represented 66% of the total market cap of the broad benchmark.

The growth and value indexes represent 74% and 64% of the Russell Top 200, respectively; there is significant component overlap between the two indexes. Russell uses price-to-book ratio and projected growth to determine a stock’s growth/value designation.

Read the filing for the iShares Russell 200 Index Fund here.

Read the filing for the iShares Russell 200 Growth Index Fund here.

Read the filing for the iShares Russell 200 Value Index Fund here.

ETFS Amends Gold Filing

London-based commodities specialist ETF Securities has amended its filing with the SEC in order to launch a physically backed gold tracker product with custody in Switzerland.

Earlier this year, as reported on IndexUniverse.com, ETF Securities made filings to the SEC to launch ETFs tracking gold, silver, platinum and palladium, called the ETFS Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium Trusts, respectively.

However, on July 2, the ETFS Gold Trust filed with the SEC to issue up to $1 billion in ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares. The custodian will be JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, who will, in turn, select a sucustodian in Zurich to hold the trust’s allocated gold.

The existing physically backed gold trackers run by ETF Securities in Europe, Gold Bullion Securities (LSE: GBS.L) and ETFS Physical Gold (LSE: PHAU.L), both have HSBC Bank USA as their custodian. HSBC was named as the custodian in the original U.S. registration for the ETFS Gold Trust.

In recent months, gold ETFs run by Swiss banks ZKB and Julius Baer have gained market share among bullion trackers, with many observers citing the location of the funds’ gold custody in Switzerland as a key selling point.

The ETFS Physical Swiss Gold shares will trade on NYSE ARCA under the symbol “SGOL.” No fees were listed.

Read the amended filing here.

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