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ETF Roundup: Bull and Bear Treasury Notes Hit the Street
August 11, 2010
SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) – A series of new exchange-traded products targeting commodities, emerging market debt and U.S. Treasury bonds have just debuted.
Let’s analyze them:
iPath U.S. Treasury ETNs
Barclays Bank launched eight iPath exchange-traded notes (ETNs) focused on the fixed income market. The notes follow U.S. Treasuries with long, short and intermediate term maturities. The other two notes target excess returns from steepening or flattening U.S. Treasury yield curves.
The new ETNs have annual expenses of 0.75% and trade under the following ticker symbols:
--iPath US Treasury Steepener ETN (NYSEArca: STPP)
--iPath US Treasury Flattener ETN (NYSEArca: FLAT)
--iPath US Treasury 2-year Bull ETN (NYSEArca: DTUL)
--iPath US Treasury 2-year Bear ETN (NYSEArca: DTUS)
--iPath US Treasury 10-year Bull ETN (NYSEArca: DTYL)
--iPath US Treasury 10-year Bear ETN (NYSEArca: DTYS)
--iPath US Treasury Long Bond Bull ETN (NYSEArca: DLBL)
--iPath US Treasury Long Bond Bear ETN (NYSEArca: DLBS)
According to Barclays, the U.K.-based company now manages over $7 billion in its iPath ETN lineup.
ETNs are unsecured debt securities linked to the performance of a single security or a group of securities, currencies or commodities. Like bonds, ETNs carry credit risk of the issuing company.
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund (NYSEArca: ELD)
ELD is an actively managed ETF that aims to provide exposure to emerging market debt denominated in local currencies. The fund charges annual expenses of 0.55% and is sub-advised by Mellon Capital Management. The effective duration for bonds owned within ELD’s portfolio is 4.56 years.
“We believe emerging market debt is an attractive asset class, based on the faster growth and typically higher yields available in these countries relative to the U.S. and developed world,” said Bruce Lavine, WisdomTree President and COO. “ELD will offer full exposure to local currencies, a feature we consider important for many investors because of the potential lower correlations and currency appreciation against the U.S. dollar.”
EGShares INDXX India Infrastructure Index Fund (NYSEArca: INXX)
INXX follows the Indxx India Infrastructure Index, which contains 30 stocks involved in India’s infrastructure industry. The index is free-float market cap weighted and the fund is sponsored by New York, NY-based Emerging Global Advisors. INXX’s annual expense ratio is 0.85%.
United States Commodity Index Fund (NYSEArca: USCI)
USCI is linked the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index and is comprised of 14 commodity futures contracts selected on a monthly basis using fundamental factors. Each futures contract is given an equal weight assignment. The annual expense ratio for USCI is 0.95% and the fund is sponsored by United States Commodity Funds. USCI is organized as a limited partnership under the Securities Act of 1933. Owners get a schedule K-1 for tax reporting purposes. |
