ProShares Launches Two Leveraged U.S. Treasury ETFs
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PRESS RELEASE
Opportunities to benefit from dips in interest rates
Bethesda, MD, January 21, 2010 — ProFunds Group, the world's largest manager of leveraged and inverse funds,1 announced today that it is launching two ETFs designed to provide magnified exposure to the U.S. Treasury market. The ProShares Ultra 20+ Year Treasury (UBT) seeks investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the performance of the Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index for a single day, excluding fees, expenses and interest income. The ProShares Ultra 7-10 Year Treasury (UST) seeks investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the performance of the Barclays Capital 7-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index for a single day, excluding fees, expenses and interest income. The ETFs will be listed on NYSE Arca today.
"The new ETFs provide magnified exposure to Treasury securities and afford potential opportunities to benefit from dips in interest rates," said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Advisors LLC, ProShares' investment advisor. "With the addition of these two ETFs, ProShares offers the largest lineup of leveraged and inverse Treasury ETFs."
Demand for the firm's inverse Treasury ETFs has been strong. In particular, the ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TBT) has attracted more than $4.6 billion in less than two years, and was the most successful ETF launched in 2008.2 Today’s launch of the two leveraged (200%) Treasury ETFs is in response to investor interest in leveraged long counterparts to the popular inverse fixed-income ETFs, ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (TBT) and ProShares UltraShort 7-10 Year Treasury (PST).
Mr. Sapir added, "No matter what the longer-term interest rate trend, short-term up and down moves can offer tactical investment opportunities for knowledgeable investors. With these new ETFs, ProShares now offers both leveraged and inverse exposure to the U.S. Treasury market."
| ProShares | Ticker Symbol | Index/Benchmark | Objective* |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Fixed-Income ProShares | |||
| Ultra 20+ Year Treasury | UBT | Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index |
+200% Daily |
| Ultra 7-10 Year Treasury | UST | Barclays Capital 7-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index |
+200% Daily |
| Existing Fixed-Income ProShares | |||
| Short 20+ Year Treasury | TBF | Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index |
-100% Daily |
| UltraShort 7-10 Year Treasury | PST | Barclays Capital 7-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index |
-200% Daily |
| UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury | TBT | Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index |
-200% Daily |
*Before fees and expenses
About ProFunds Group
ProShares is part of ProFunds Group, the largest manager of leveraged and inverse funds and ETFs. ProShares introduced the first inverse and leveraged ETFs in the U.S. in 2006. Since 1997, ProFunds mutual funds have provided investors with access to sophisticated investment strategies. In addition, ProFunds Group subadvises the Canada-based Horizons BetaPro ETFs.
Media contact:
Tucker Hewes, Hewes Communications, Inc., (212) 207-9451, tucker@hewescomm.com
Most ProShares ETFs and many ProFunds employ leveraged investment techniques that magnify gains and losses and result in greater volatility in value. Each Short or Ultra ProShares ETF and leveraged or inverse ProFund seeks a return that is a multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., -200%) of the return of an index or other benchmark (target) for a single day. Due to the compounding of daily returns, ProShares' and leveraged and inverse ProFunds' returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the same period. Investors should monitor holdings consistent with their strategies, as frequently as daily. For more on correlation, leverage and other risks, please read the ProShares or ProFunds prospectus.
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Jan 21, 20101 Source: Lipper, based on a worldwide analysis of all of the known providers of funds in these categories. The analysis covered ETFs, ETNs, and mutual funds by the number of funds and assets (as of 6/30/2009).
2 Source: Bloomberg