ProFunds Group, the world’s largest manager of short and leveraged funds1,
announced today that it is launching the first ETFs designed to seek
triple exposure to the S&P 500 on a daily basis. ProShares UltraPro
S&P500 (UPRO) seeks 300% of the performance of the S&P 500 for
a single day, while ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 (SPXU) seeks
300% of the inverse performance of the S&P 500 for a single day (before
fees and expenses). The new ETFs will be listed on NYSE Arca today.
“The S&P 500 has the largest following in the ETP industry with nearly
$90 billion of assets benchmarked to it,” said Michael L. Sapir,
ProFunds Group Chairman and CEO. “As the leader in short and leveraged
ETFs, we are committed to giving investors more choices to manage risk
and pursue returns.”
ProShares now offers five ETFs benchmarked to the S&P 500:
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ProShares
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Ticker Symbol
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Index
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Objective*
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New UltraPro ProShares
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UltraPro S&P500
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UPRO
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S&P 500
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300% Daily
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UltraPro Short S&P500
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SPXU
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S&P 500
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-300% Daily
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Existing ProShares Benchmarked to S&P 500
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Ultra S&P500
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SSO
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S&P 500
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200% Daily
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Short S&P500
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SH
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S&P 500
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-100% Daily
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UltraShort S&P500
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SDS
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S&P 500
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-200% Daily
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*Before fees and expenses.
About ProFunds Group
ProFunds Group includes 86 ProShares short and leveraged ETFs, and 115
ProFunds mutual funds. ProShares, which introduced the first short and
leveraged ETFs in 2006, continues to be a leader in launching innovative
new products—for two years in a row, ProShares has led the industry in
attracting assets to newly launched ETFs2 and is the fourth
largest manager of ETFs3 in the nation. Since 1997, ProFunds
mutual funds have provided investors with access to sophisticated
investment strategies, with offerings that include funds that seek to
magnify daily index performance and funds that seek to increase in value
when markets decline. The group also manages the Canada-based Horizons
BetaPro ETFs.
All ProShares ETFs and many ProFunds employ leveraged investment
techniques that magnify gains and losses and result in greater
volatility in value. Each ProShares ETF and leveraged or inverse ProFund
seeks a return that is a multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., -200%) of
the return of an index or other benchmark (target) for a single day. Due
to the compounding of daily returns, ProShares' and leveraged and
inverse ProFunds’ returns over periods other than one day will likely
differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the
same period. Investors should monitor holdings consistent with their
strategies, as frequently as daily. For more on correlation, leverage
and other risks, please read the ProShares or ProFunds prospectus.
All investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. ProShares
entail certain risks, including, in some or all cases, aggressive
investment techniques (futures contracts, options, forward contracts,
swap agreements and similar instruments), correlation or inverse
correlation, and market price variance risk, all of which can increase
volatility and decrease performance. In addition, ProShares are
non-diversified, and narrowly focused investments, including single
country funds, typically exhibit higher volatility. International
investments may also involve risk from unfavorable fluctuation in
currency values, differences in generally accepted accounting principles
and economic or political instability. In emerging markets, all these
risks are heightened and lower trading volumes may occur. There is no
guarantee that any ProShares ETF will achieve its investment objective.
Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and
expenses of ProShares and ProFunds before investing. This and other
information can be found in their prospectuses. Read the prospectus(es)
carefully before investing. For a ProShares ETF prospectus, visit www.proshares.com
and seek advice from your financial adviser or broker/dealer
representative. Financial professionals can also call 866-PRO-5125. For
a ProFunds mutual fund prospectus, call 888-PRO-FNDS (individual
investors) or 888-PRO-5717 (financial professionals), or visit www.profunds.com.
Read the prospectus(es) carefully before investing.
"S&P 500" is a trademark of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and has been
licensed for use by ProShares. ProShares are not sponsored, endorsed,
sold, or promoted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. makes no representation regarding the advisability of
investing in the ProShares. THESE ENTITIES AND THEIR AFFILIATES MAKE
NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO PROSHARES.
ProFunds Group includes ProFunds mutual funds and ProShares ETFs.
ProFunds Distributors, Inc. is distributor for ProFunds mutual funds.
ProShares ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 are
distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated
with ProFunds Group or its affiliates.
1 Source: Lipper, based on a worldwide analysis of all of the
known providers of publicly traded funds in these categories. The
analysis covered ETFs, ETNs, and mutual funds by the number of funds and
assets (as of 6/30/2008).
2 Citigroup ETF Flow Report, based on an analysis of ETPs
introduced in 2007 and 2008.
3 Source: Bloomberg, based on assets for 5/29/2009.
Hewes Communications, Inc.
Tucker Hewes, 212-207-9451
tucker@hewescomm.com