Direxion Bolsters Suite Of Lightly Leveraged ETFs

For traders and nimble investors that want just a little bit of leverage but not too much with their exchange-traded funds, Direxion is adding to its suite of lightly leveraged funds.

Direxion, one of the largest issuers of inverse and leveraged ETFs, on Thursday made some changes and additions to its suite of lightly leveraged ETFs. The new group of such funds, which feature 1.25 times leverage, is known as Portfolio+ ETFs.

The Portfolio+ S&P 500 ETF PPLC was formerly known as the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 1.25X Shares while the Portfolio+ S&P Small Cap ETF PPSC was formerly known as the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 1.25X Shares. PPLC and PPSC both recently turned three years old.

New Additions

New additions to the Portfolio+ ETFs include the Portfolio+ S&P Mid Cap ETF PPMC. That ETF is designed to deliver 125 percent of the daily returns of the widely followed S&P MidCap 400 Index. For example, if the S&P MidCap 400 rose 1 percent on a given day, PPMC should rise 1.25 percent.

The Portfolio+ Developed Markets ETF PPDM will try to deliver 1.25 times the daily performance of the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. That index allocates 35.5 percent of its weight to Japan and the U.K. Canada, Germany and France combine for about 25 percent of the benchmark's weight.

"Over time, a small amount of added exposure can make a significant difference," Andy O'Rourke, managing director at Direxion, said in a statement. "At the right price point, just a 25% boost allows advisors who already manage a diversified strategy to seek out additional risk-adjusted returns in a manageable way."

EM And Bonds, Too

The Portfolio+ Emerging Markets ETF PPEM will attempt to deliver 125 percent of the daily returns of the FTSE Emerging Markets Index. That index allocates about half its combined weight to China, Taiwan and India. PPEM's benchmark does not include South Korean stocks because FTSE Russell, the index provider, classifies Asia's fourth-largest economy as a developed market.

The Portfolio+ Total Bond Market ETF PPTB looks to deliver 125 percent of the daily returns of the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index, one of the world's most widely followed bond indices.

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