01.31.20
Leveraged ETF Seller Urges Investors to Fight Proposed Regulation
by: Justin Baer; Paul Kiernan
Michael Sapir, chair of ProShares, is urging investors to fight an SEC proposal that would require brokers and advisors to pose a series of questions to their clients before they could sell them leveraged ETFs. The clients' responses, the SEC has said, would help advisors determine whether investors understood the risks that accompany funds. ProShares, which specializes in leveraged funds, prompted its investors to write the SEC voicing their displeasure with the proposal. Last year, there were 166 leveraged ETFs managing a combined $34.7 billion, according to data from Morningstar, up from 136 funds in 2010 but unchanged from 2015's total. The products have attracted criticism, with Larry Fink, chief of BlackRock, saying they were destined to “blow up the whole industry.”
Read the full article on Wall Street Journal