• MacroShares Housing Up/Dow ETFs finally launch
• First U.S.-listed Islamic ETF debuts
• ProShares rolls out its first triple-exposure ETFs

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Finally! MacroMarkets Housing ETFs Debut

MacroMarkets rolled out its long-awaited and oft-delayed home price securities on June 30.

The MacroShares Major Metro Up (NYSE Arca: UMM) and the MacroShares Major Metro Down (NYSE Arca: DMM) are designed to deliver 300% and -300%, respectively, of the return of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price 10 Index, the leading benchmark of residential home prices in the U.S. They are the first products that allow investors to speculate on the direction of residential home prices.

The products do not hold houses or any other traditional home-related securities. Rather, they gain exposure to real estate prices through MacroMarkets’ unique “teeter-totter” product structure, through which the funds both hold Treasury securities as their sole asset and shift their holdings between them according to the movements of their underlying index.

The funds are designed to "expire" on Nov. 25, 2014, at which point investors will receive a payment based on 300% of the change in the S&P Case-Shiller index from Dec. 31, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2014. (The end payout will be based on the August 2014 rather than the November reading because the indexes are published with a two-month lag.)

UMM and DMM carry expense ratios of 1.25%.

Read the original IndexUniverse.com article here.

Read the prospectus for UMM here and for DMM here.

First Islamic ETF Launches In U.S.

July 1 saw the launch of the first U.S. ETF to follow an investing style tied to Islamic beliefs.

The JETS Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund (NYSE: JVS) from Javelin Investment Management tracks an index of 100 companies outside the U.S. Some 23 companies representing 18 different currencies are included in the portfolio.

The ETF expects to wind up charging an annual expense ratio of 0.60%. Following Shariah law, it will avoid investing in companies involved in alcohol, gaming, weapons production, pork products and certain types of entertainment such as casinos, gambling and pornography.

The ETF's largest sector is oil and gas. Next in line are: basic materials, health care, tech and telecom. Since Shariah law refrains from borrowing or lending at interest, financial stocks are significantly reduced in the portfolio, according to Javelin Investment Management. Just prior to launch, the fund's biggest country allocation was to the U.K. (21.04%), followed by Canada (10.71%), Japan (9.83%) and France (9.82%).

JVS is expected to be the start of a new fund family marketed under as JETS—Javelin Exchange Traded Shares.

Read the original IndexUniverse.com article here.

Read the prospectus for JVS here.

ProShares Rolls Out Triple-Exposure S&P 500 ETFs

On June 25, ProShares rolled out a pair of portfolios that are designed to provide 300% exposure—both inverse and leveraged—to the S&P 500 index.

The ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (NYSE Arca: UPRO) and ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500 (NYSE Arca: SPXU) each charge an expense ratio of 0.95%.

Prior to the launch, Direxion had been the only firm offering triple-exposure ETFs. However, the new 3x ETFs from ProShares are the first to provide such leverage to the S&P 500.

Read the original IndexUniverse article here.

Read the prospectus for UPRO and SPXU here.

New First Trust ETF Covers Community Banks

First Trust Advisors launched an ETF focused on community banks on July 1.

The First Trust Nasdaq ABA Community Bank Fund (NASDAQ: QABA) comes with an expense ratio of 0.60%, according to the ETF's prospectus.

Community banks follow a different economic paradigm than larger banks. When well-run, they tend to be steady, low-risk performers, with limited upside but similarly limited volatility. Perhaps most notably, they were more apt to have stayed away from practices like subprime lending.

Companies entering QABA’s underlying index, among other restrictions and rules, cannot be among the 50 largest banks or thrifts based on asset size; cannot focus on international servicing; and cannot specialize in credit cards. In other words, they are supposed to be local banks.

Read the original IndexUniverse.com article here.

Read the prospectus for QABA here.

NEW FILINGS

IndexUniverse.com did not report on any new filings during the covered time period.

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