PRESS ROOM
BOOST launches Italy’s first 3x ETPs on US equities and First -2x ETCs linked to silver and natural gas
Wednesday 26th February '14
- BOOST lists six new ETCs on Borsa Italiana, making a total of 20 Boost ETPs & ETCs listed in Italy
- 3x Short and 3x Leverage (S&L) ETPs linked to US equities listed for the first time in Italy
- US equity indices cover large cap equities (Russell 1000) and the QQQ (NASDAQ 100)
- Boost Natural Gas 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3NGL) rose by 125% in the past 3 months, while Boost NASDAQ 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP (QQQ3) rose by 136% in 2013
- Global AUM for S&L ETPs reached a record high in January of $56 billion due to increasing demand for robust ETPs with S&L exposures
BOOST ETP, Europe’s award winning, specialist Short and Leverage (S&L) Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) provider announced today that it has listed six more ETPs on Borsa Italiana following its successful listing of 14 ETPs and ETCs on Borsa in Q4 of 2013. In total, BOOST ETP has listed 20 ETPs on Borsa Italiana, bringing BOOST’s total listings to 64 in the UK and Italy.
BOOST’s new ETPs and ETCs available on Borsa Italiana today are:
Product Name |
ISIN |
Exchange Code |
Boost NASDAQ 100 3x Short Daily ETP |
IE00B8VZH32 |
QQQS |
Boost NASDAQ 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP |
IE00B8W5C578 |
QQQ3 |
Boost US Large Cap 3x Short Daily ETP |
IE00B8K7KM88 |
3USS |
Boost US Large Cap 3x Leverage Daily ETP |
IE00B7Y34M31 |
3USL |
Boost Natural Gas 2x Short Daily ETP |
IE00B94QL251 |
2NGS |
Boost Silver 2x Short Daily ETP |
IE00B94QL921 |
2SIS |
Demand for transparent, liquid and robust S&L ETPs has increased over the past few years with global S&L ETP assets rising to a record of $56bn (BOOST Short and Leverage ETF/ETP Global Flows Report, 31 Jan 2014). There has been a rise in demand since October 2013 as volatility in global equity markets has risen, with BOOST’s AUM having also risen to a record of circa $78 million, up around 200% in the past four months. BOOST’s most popular indices are FTSE MIB and Natural Gas with $15 million and $19 million of AUM, or around $45 million and $55 million, respectively after taking leverage into account.
Volumes across BOOSTS’s platform have risen to an average of $10 million per day, having increased by 2,000% since June 2013. In January, the most popular BOOST ETP was the BOOST Natural Gas 3x Short Daily ETP (3NGS), which comprised 27% of total BOOST turnover. In Italy, Boost has gained around 17% market share in less than four months, with Natural Gas and Silver two of the top three traded ETPs in Borsa’s ETC segment of ETFplus.
While the extreme cold weather affecting large parts of the US this year boosted demand for heating fuels, it caught US gas suppliers by surprise, having had to rely heavily on existing gas inventories to meet demand. In 2013, the BOOST NASDAQ 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP (QQQ3) rose by 136% (to 31.12.13) while in the past 3 months, Boost Natural Gas 100 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3NGL) rose by 147% (to 20.2.14).
The US’s second tapering announcement, China’s unexpected contraction in manufacturing and Europe’s bank stress test coming on the heels of more capital raising has briefly cut short the rally in equities during the second half of January. While the souring sentiment on risk assets had caused investors to seek shelter in safe havens assets such as gold and US Treasuries, leveraged short positioning in US equities would have created efficient hedging for investors. For example, from January 16 to January 31 2014, when the Russell 1000 and the NASDAQ 100 fell 3.4% and 2.4%, respectively, the Boost Russell 1000 3x Short Daily ETP (3USS) and Boost NASDAQ 100 3x Short Daily ETP (QQQS) returned 10.2% and 7.0%, respectively.
BOOST is the first ETP/ETC issuer of 3x Short and 3x Leveraged ETPs on the Borsa Italiana ETFplus market. BOOST’s triple leverage ETPs are designed to return 3x the daily movement, long or short, of the relevant benchmark index. For example, if the NASDAQ 100 Index rises by 1% on a particular day, then "QQQS" will fall by 3% and "QQQ3" will rise by 3% (before fees and other adjustments). However, if the NASDAQ Gold Index falls by 1% then "QQQ3" will fall by 3% and "QQQS" will rise by 3% (before fees and other adjustments).
Throughout 2013, BOOST has worked hard to develop its educational materials to help investors understand the S&L ETP/ETF structure, its benefits and risks. BOOST has developed educational tools such as the ‘Adviser/Investor Tool Kit’ which includes a Tutorial and Test, a Returns Simulator, various fact sheets and FAQs. BOOST also provides regular conference calls and face to face educational sessions for investors. These tools and events are also be offered to Italian investors.
Co-CEO of BOOST ETP, Nik Bienkowski commented:
“BOOST has seen significant activity already in its flagship Italian ETPs including the Boost FTSE MIB 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3ITL) and Boost FTSE MIB 3x Short Daily ETP (3ITS). We also saw significant interest in Boost Natural Gas 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3NGL) and Boost Silver 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3SIL). To gain around 17% market share for the Borsa Italiana ETP Plus ETC/ETP segment in less than 4 months of trading is spectacular. With record trading volumes and Assets Under Management, this is proof of investor demand for well-constructed and highly liquid investment products such as Boost ETPs”.