- FTSE 250 added to Boost’s short and leveraged ETP platform
- -1x, -2x and +2x ETPs added to existing -3x and +3x ETPs
- UK equities contribute over 80% to trading volumes
BOOST ETP the award winning and independent exchange-traded product (ETP) provider announced today that it intends to launch the world’s first short and leveraged (S&L) FTSE 250 ETPs in early July. The FTSE 250 index is the leading index of UK mid-cap stocks. The index consists of the 101 to 350 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The launch of these two new FTSE 250 ETPs will complement Boost’s offering of S&L ETPs tracking the FTSE 100.
In addition, BOOST will be launching three new S&L ETPs tracking the FTSE 100 which to date have been BOOST’s most popular products having contributed to approximately 80% of daily trading volumes recently. BOOST’s three new FTSE 100 ETPs will provide various S&L exposures to the FTSE 100, including -2x, -1x and +2x the daily change in the FTSE 100 Index.
The new listings expand BOOST’s platform to19 equity ETPs and 16 commodity ETCs providing S&L exposure to the world’s leading indices. BOOST was the first issuer to focus on 3x Leveraged and 3x Short ETPs.
BOOST’s list of new and existing S&L ETPs tracking FTSE indices now include:
Product Name LSE Code Leverage Factor
Boost FTSE 250 1x Short Daily ETP 1MCS -1x
Boost FTSE 250 2x Leverage Daily ETP 2MCL 2x
Boost FTSE 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP 3UKL 3x
Boost FTSE 100 2x Leverage Daily ETP 2UKL 2x
Boost FTSE 100 3x Short Daily ETP 3UKS -3x
Boost FTSE 100 2x Short Daily ETP 2UKS -2x
Boost FTSE 100 1x Short Daily ETP SUK1 -1x
The new ETPs provide S&L exposure to daily changes in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices. For example, if the FTSE 250 rises by 1% on a particular day, then Boost FTSE 250 2x Leverage Daily ETP (2MCL) will rise by 2% and BOOST FTSE 250 1x Short Daily ETP (1MCS) will fall by 1%. However, if the FTSE 250 falls by 1%, then 2MCL will fall by 2% and 1MCS will rise by 1%.
Demand for transparent S&L ETPs has increased over the past few years with global S&L ETP assets rising to $49bn* , as many financial markets have trended sideways, resulting in volatile but poor long term returns.
Investors have been increasing their use of S&L ETPs for a variety of reasons. There is wider product availability, greater product knowledge from improved educational resources and increased demand for hedging tools and leveraged instruments due to current market conditions. There is also a move towards independent, transparent and exchange traded instruments such as ETFs and ETPs. BOOST has worked hard to introduce investor education tools in order to help grow the investor base adopting S&L ETPs. The most recent being the ‘Adviser Tool Kit’ which BOOST launched on its website in May 2013.
S&L ETPs expand the investment range for investors and allow them to execute a wide variety of strategies including:-
- leverage the daily returns of an investment for the same capital as a non-leveraged trade
- hedge existing positions in one simple trade
- use a long or short strategy to take advantage of any short term rises or falls in the market, especially in a sideways trending market
- use in pairs to trade and take advantage of undervalued assets
- get short the market efficiently and cheaply without having to arrange and finance complex stock borrowing positions
Hector McNeil, Co-CEO, commented:
“BOOST is very proud to introduce the world’s first S&L ETPs based on the FTSE 250 benchmark. The introduction of Boost FTSE 250 1x Short Daily ETP (1MCS) and Boost FTSE 250 2x leveraged Daily ETP (2MCL) are valuable additions to an investors’ tool kit. These along with, Boost FTSE 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3UKL) and Boost FTSE 100 3x Short Daily ETP (3UKS), allows investors to trade the material constituents of the main companies listed on the LSE.
“Since launch we have seen a healthy increase in broad investor interest in the Boost S&L ETP range which has resulted in strong trading growth on the LSE. Boost has focused heavily on educating sophisticated investors as to the merits of S&L ETPs as an valuable trading and investment tool. We have had particularly good feedback from investors on the usefulness of the ‘Adviser Tool Kit’ we launched in May. With these new products and educational tools we feel we are continuing to add value to our growing list of investors by focusing on their trading and investment needs.”
* Source: Bloomberg, BOOST ETP LLP