Assets under management at Boost ETP, Europe’s only issuer of exchange-traded products dedicated to short and leveraged exposures, have surged to $75 million, equivalent to a notional leveraged-adjusted value of $209 million.
Assets under management at short and leveraged specialist Boost ETP have surged to $75 million.
Among the London-based firm’s most popular products are the Boost Natural Gas 3x Short Daily ETP (3NGS), Boost FTSE MIB 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3ITL) and Boost FTSE MIB 3x Short Daily ETP (3ITS).
Consistent with rising AUM has been a significant increase in on-exchange traded volumes. Trading volumes of the firm’s products on the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana have recently been averaging around $10 million per day, an increase of 2,000% since June 2013.
Nik Bienkowski, Co-CEO of Boost ETP, commented: “As we expected, demand for short and leverage ETPs is growing as investors understand the benefits of shorting and leveraging through an ETP. Recently, we have seen AUM and trading volumes increase significantly. This is due to the dual listing of Boost ETPs in both the UK and Italy, along with having an enviable operating track record.”
Globally, AUM in short and leverage ETPs hit a high of $56 billion at the end of January, up $0.9 billion (or 1.7%) from December 2013, a function of wider product availability, greater product knowledge from improved educational resources, and increased demand for hedging tools and leveraged instruments. Global AUM in these products has also been boosted by regulatory moves favouring independent, transparent and exchange-traded instruments such as ETFs and ETPs.
Bienkowski added: “The main reason for the recent spike in trading volumes has been volatile financial markets, resulting in investors seeking ETPs to either hedge portfolios, or to take short terms tactical bets that prices will fall or bounce back, and this seems to be a potential pattern investors are now faced with for 2014.”
Boost was founded in late 2012. Earlier this year it was announced that US ETF giant WisdomTree was to acquire a 75% stake in the company, subject to regulatory approval.