Individual Investors Get Burned by Collapse of Complex Securities

Re:Individual Investors Get Burned by Collapse of Complex Se... by cosmojg on Monday June 01, 2020 @04:57PM (#23383729)

Many leveraged ETFs can be redeemed or created, though. ETFs and ETNs are two very different products. ProShares, the issuer behind the popular 3x leveraged NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 ETFs TQQQ and UPRO, even publishes a fee schedule for redeeming and creating their products [1]. Also, unlike with ETNs, if the issuer of am ETF goes under, you receive the underlying assets. In other words, there's no counterparty risk.

I agree that leveraged ETFs can be dangerous if used incorrectly (look up volatility decay), but they aren't "trash" and they certainly aren't anywhere near as dangerous as even unleveraged ETNs. Here's a resource about the difference between those two, by the way [2]. In short, ETF shares represent a direct stake in the underlying assets, similar to owning equity in a house or business. ETN shares are more like little IOUs along the lines of bonds and loans. They have their place, but they're difficult to use safely, especially when leverage is involved.

[1] https://www.proshares.com/resources/creation_and_redemption_...

[2] https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0213/etf-or-etn-...

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Re:Individual Investors Get Burned by Collapse of Complex Se... by haltingproblem on Monday June 01, 2020 @06:09PM (#23384573)

They can be redeemed or created but that is a facility for market makers. The redemption is not in kind since you can't redeem swaps. I posted an example in the thread above.

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