Latest news with #VXX
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
QDWN, VIXY Among ETFs Posting Biggest Declines in May 2025
Exchange-traded funds utilizing options strategies and volatility exposure led May's worst-performers among non-leveraged funds, with the DailyDelta Q100 Downside Option Strategy ETF (QDWN) falling the most at 43%, according to FactSet data. With $192,500 in assets under management, QDWN pursues short-term bearish bets on the Nasdaq-100 Index through put options purchases, according to FactSet. The actively managed strategy seeks capital appreciation while limiting single-day risk to 10% or less of net asset value. Posting the second-worst performance is the YieldMax Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF (FIAT), which declined 33%, according to FactSet. Holding $49.8 million in assets, the fund aims to provide current income and inverse exposure to Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) stock through a synthetic covered put strategy. Volatility-focused products also struggled during May. Both the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) and iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) declined 27%, according to FactSet data. Tracking futures contracts on the CBOE Volatility Index with average one-month maturity, the VIXY fund holds $129.7 million in assets. With $389.3 million in assets, the VXX product provides similar short-term VIX futures exposure but operates as an exchange-traded note rather than a traditional ETF structure, according to FactSet. Worst-Performing ETFs of May 2025—Source: FactSet The YieldMax Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF (YQQQ) posted a 13% loss, according to FactSet. With $11.7 million in assets, the fund employs a synthetic covered put strategy targeting inverse exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Index while generating monthly income. Rounding out the top five decliners is the WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN), which declined 10%, according to FactSet. This $36.6 million actively-managed fund provides concentrated exposure to gold through both mining company equities and U.S.-listed gold futures contracts. Mining-focused ETFs continued the decline pattern as the iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF (SLVP) fell 9%, according to FactSet. Holding $282.9 million in assets, the fund tracks a market-cap-weighted index of global companies that earn the majority of their revenues from silver mining. Multiple funds tied at 8% declines. Through an actively managed market-neutral strategy, the AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund (BTAL) takes long positions in low-beta U.S. stocks offset by short positions in high-beta stocks, with $318.6 million in assets. Natural gas exposure also hurt performance as the United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) fell 8%, according to FactSet. With $363.3 million in assets, the fund holds near-month futures contracts in natural gas delivered at Henry Hub, Louisiana, rolling expiring contracts to maintain front-month exposure. Automated trading strategies struggled as the TradersAI Large Cap Equity & Cash ETF (HFSP) posted an 8% decline, according to FactSet. With $848,200 in assets, the fund uses proprietary algorithms with human oversight to trade S&P 500 Index e-mini futures positions based on intraday price movements. Completing the worst-performers list is the Themes Gold Miners ETF (AUMI), which also lost 8%, according to FactSet. With $10.4 million in assets, the fund tracks a market-cap-weighted index of the 30 largest gold-mining companies | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Barclays beats two lawsuits in US over $17.7 billion issuance blunder
(Reuters) - Barclays won the dismissal on Friday of two U.S. securities fraud lawsuits stemming from the British bank's unauthorized sale of $17.7 billion more securities than U.S. regulators allowed. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said investors who acquired Barclays' iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Future exchange-traded notes ("VXX") could not sue over general assurances the bank made about its internal controls even as it issued the notes without the required regulatory approval. Liman also dismissed similar claims by investors who got caught in a market squeeze when Barclays suspended VXX sales in March 2022, causing the price of VXX securities they had sold short to soar 140% above their so-called indicative value. The judge also found no proof of intent to defraud or conscious recklessness, saying bank officials including former Chief Executive Jes Staley would have been incentivized to register more securities rather than let the problem grow. Barclays' remedial efforts including the sales halt, disclosures to regulators and the public, and a buyback offer were "a prudent course of action that weakens rather than strengthens an inference of [intent to defraud]," Liman wrote. Lawyers for investors in both proposed class actions did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Liman's decisions totaled 111 pages. Barclays halted VXX sales in March 2022, when it admitted to having sold $15.2 billion more structured notes and ETNs over the prior five years than U.S. regulators allowed. The bank later boosted the overissuance estimate to $17.7 billion. Barclays executives have called the overissuance "entirely avoidable" and "self-inflicted." In September 2022, Barclays reached a $361 million settlement, including a $200 million civil fine, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the overissuance. Barclays agreed in December to pay $19.5 million to settle a related shareholder lawsuit in the Manhattan court. Staley stepped down as the bank's chief executive in November 2021. The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are May et al v Barclays Plc, No. 23-02583, and Puchtler v Barclays Plc et al, No. 24-01872. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
21-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Barclays beats two lawsuits in US over $17.7 billion issuance blunder
March 21 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab won the dismissal on Friday of two U.S. securities fraud lawsuits stemming from the British bank's unauthorized sale of $17.7 billion more securities than U.S. regulators allowed. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said investors who acquired Barclays' iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Future exchange-traded notes ("VXX") could not sue over general assurances the bank made about its internal controls even as it issued the notes without the required regulatory approval. Liman also dismissed similar claims by investors who got caught in a market squeeze when Barclays suspended VXX sales in March 2022, causing the price of VXX securities they had sold short to soar 140% above their so-called indicative value. The judge also found no proof of intent to defraud or conscious recklessness, saying bank officials including former Chief Executive Jes Staley would have been incentivized to register more securities rather than let the problem grow. Barclays' remedial efforts including the sales halt, disclosures to regulators and the public, and a buyback offer were "a prudent course of action that weakens rather than strengthens an inference of [intent to defraud]," Liman wrote. Lawyers for investors in both proposed class actions did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Liman's decisions totaled 111 pages. Barclays halted VXX sales in March 2022, when it admitted to having sold $15.2 billion more structured notes and ETNs over the prior five years than U.S. regulators allowed. The bank later boosted the overissuance estimate to $17.7 billion. Barclays executives have called the overissuance "entirely avoidable" and "self-inflicted." In September 2022, Barclays reached a $361 million settlement, including a $200 million civil fine, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the overissuance. Barclays agreed in December to pay $19.5 million to settle a related shareholder lawsuit in the Manhattan court. Staley stepped down as the bank's chief executive in November 2021. The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are May et al v Barclays Plc, No. 23-02583, and Puchtler v Barclays Plc et al, No. 24-01872.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Volatility ETFs Are Down, but They Aren't Out of the Picture
Despite plenty of scary headlines about trade wars and Chinese AI competition, stock market investors haven't been that alarmed. Wall Street's favorite fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, is having a ho-hum year after briefly surging at the tail end of 2024. Since the start of 2025, the index has averaged 16.7, with a high of 19.5 and a low of 14.9. The calmness in the VIX reflects the lack of volatility in the S&P 500. Sure, there were down days in early January that took the index to a two-month low, but nothing that significantly altered the outlook for the economy and corporate earning—at least in the eyes of investors. With volatility on the retreat, the $340 million Barclays iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), which tracks VIX futures contracts, has fallen by more than 6% since the start of the year. Eventually, volatility will return with a vengeance—it always does—but for now, investors can rest easy. It can be useful to keep an eye on the VIX to get a sense of how nervous investors are. But the VIX doesn't measure actual, realized volatility. It measures what is known as implied volatility, which is calculated based on the price of near-term S&P 500 Index options, or those with 23 to 37 days until expiration. When stocks gyrate wildly, options contracts—which allow investors to buy or sell at predetermined prices—tend to cost more. Unfortunately, the VIX itself―also known as spot VIX―is un-investable: There's no way to buy or sell the popular gauge because the underlying portfolio of options that the index measures is constantly changing. However, there are financial products closely tied to movements in the index. VIX futures contracts allow traders to bet on what value the index will be at some date in the future, and it's through these contracts that VXX and other VIX ETFs get their exposure to the index. VXX tracks the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index, which, according to Barclays, 'offers exposure to a daily rolling long position in the first and second month VIX futures contracts and reflects market participants' views of the future direction of the VIX index at the time of expiration of the VIX futures contracts comprising the Index.' Tip: For a full listing of these ETFs, check out Volatility ETFs page. In addition to VXX, there are 11 other volatility ETFs listed in the U.S. The largest is the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF (SVOL), followed by the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY). UVXY tracks the same index as VXX but leverages its exposure by 1.5 times. On the other hand, SVOL is an active fund that attempts to generate income by betting against VIX futures contracts. The ETF aims to provide –0.2x to –0.3x the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX short-term futures index while using options to hedge against huge upside spikes in the index. Tip: You can read more about these ETFs on their respective fund pages using this URL: | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Sign in to access your portfolio
