Narat Charupat, Zhe Ma and Peter Miu
Prior literature has shown that, theoretically, holding-period returns of a leveraged exchange-traded fund (LETF) are generally negatively affected by the volatility of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior literature has shown that, theoretically, holding-period returns of a leveraged exchange-traded fund (LETF) are generally negatively affected by the volatility of the underlying benchmark’s daily returns, particularly for long holding periods. However, recent empirical studies simulate LETFs’ returns using historical benchmark returns and report results that are not entirely consistent with the theoretical predictions, leading to the possibility that the distribution of real-world returns may have certain characteristics that influence the outcomes. In this paper, the authors examine how asymmetric volatility affects LETFs’ performance and provide detailed explanations for the behavior of the performance of LETFs under different market conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct simulation analyses on a +3x LETF and a −3x LETF based on historical S&P 500 stock index returns, with asymmetric volatility incorporated into the model.
Findings
By incorporating the asymmetric volatility effect, the simulation results suggest that, contrary to the theoretical predictions, higher volatility does not always lead to more negative impact on LETFs’ performance. Rather, the performance depends on the market conditions under which high volatility occurs. The findings therefore help reconcile prior theoretical predictions with reported empirical findings.
Originality/value
The analysis adds to the literature by incorporating the asymmetric volatility effect of stock returns in studying LETFs’ performance. The authors also provide detailed explanations for the behavior of LETFs’ returns and compounding effect under different market conditions, thus providing contexts to prior empirical results.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of three strands of the literature on exchange‐traded funds.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of three strands of the literature on exchange‐traded funds.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts with a review of the history of the growth of exchange‐traded funds and their characteristics. The paper then examines the key factors and findings of the existing studies on, respectively, the pricing efficiency, the tracking ability/performance, and the impact on underlying securities of exchange‐traded funds.
Findings
Although there has been a substantial amount of research conducted to advance our knowledge on the trading, management, and effect of exchange‐traded funds, the findings are still far from conclusive in addressing a number of research questions.
Practical implications
Investors and other market participants will find this review informative in enhancing the understanding of exchange‐traded funds.
Originality/value
By highlighting the general theme of the related research findings, the paper provides a systematic review of the existing literature that future researchers can utilize in developing their research agenda.
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Dennis Y. Chung and Karel Hrazdil
The aim of this paper is to examine the informational efficiency of prices of all exchange traded funds (ETFs) that are actively traded on the NYSE Arca, based on methodology…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine the informational efficiency of prices of all exchange traded funds (ETFs) that are actively traded on the NYSE Arca, based on methodology developed by Chordia et al.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors estimate the speed of convergence to market efficiency based on short‐horizon return predictability from past order flows of 273 ETFs that were traded every day on the NYSE Arca during the first six months of 2008, and compare the resulting price formation process to that of shares traded on the NYSE and NYSE Arca.
Findings
Despite the significant differences in trading costs, volatility, and informational effects between ETFs and regular stocks, the paper documents that price adjustments to new information for ETFs occur in about 30 minutes, which is comparable to price adjustments for traditional stocks traded on Arca. In multivariate setting, the paper further shows that the speed of convergence to market efficiency of ETFs is not only significantly driven by volume, but also by the probability of informed trading.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide direct answers and insights to questions posed in a recent SEC concept release document. The analysis of the speed of convergence provides a feasible measure to assess how efficiently prices of ETFs respond to new information.
Originality/value
The authors are first to utilize the short‐horizon return predictability from historical order flow approach to evaluate the price formation process of ETFs and to provide evidence on the determinants of its efficiency.
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Pauline M. Shum and Jisok Kang
Leveraged and inverse ETFs (hereafter leveraged ETFs) have received much press coverage of late due to issues with their performance. Managers and the media have focused…
Abstract
Purpose
Leveraged and inverse ETFs (hereafter leveraged ETFs) have received much press coverage of late due to issues with their performance. Managers and the media have focused investors' attention on the impact of compounding, when the funds are held for more than one day. The aim of this paper is to lay out a framework for assessing the performance of leveraged ETFs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a simple way to disentangle the effect of compounding and that of the management of the fund and the trading premiums/discounts, all of which affect investors' bottom line. The former is influenced by the effectiveness and the costs of the manager's (synthetic) replication strategy and the use of leverage. The latter reflects liquidity and the efficiency of the market.
Findings
The paper finds that tracking errors were not caused by the effects of compounding alone. Depending on the fund, the impact of management factors can outweigh the impact of compounding, and substantial premiums/discounts caused by reduced liquidity during the financial crisis further distorted performance.
Originality/value
The authors propose a framework for practitioners to evaluate the performance of leveraged ETFs. This framework highlights a very topical issue, that of the impact of synthetic replication, which all leveraged ETFs use. Financial regulators such as the SEC and the Financial Stability Board have all taken issue with synthetically replicated ETFs. In leveraged ETFs, this issue is masked by the effects of compounding. The framework the authors propose allows investors to disentangle the two effects.
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Narat Charupat and C.Sherman Cheung
This paper examines secondary equity offerings that were done in the Canadian markets through “installment receipts” (IRs). Previous studies on seasoned equity offerings tend to…
Abstract
This paper examines secondary equity offerings that were done in the Canadian markets through “installment receipts” (IRs). Previous studies on seasoned equity offerings tend to focus on the price reaction around the announcement date. We extend the analysis to cover a longer period so that the issues of liquidity effect and information asymmetry can be adequately addressed. We also offer evidence to indicate that the use of IRs in secondary offerings can reduce the liquidity impact in markets where market depth is not as substantial as in the U.S.
The purpose of this study is to extend the work of DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels by examining pricing deviation of DIA, SPY and QQQQ on intradaily basis.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extend the work of DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels by examining pricing deviation of DIA, SPY and QQQQ on intradaily basis.
Design/methodology/approach
The DIA is designed to be one hundredth of the DJIA, the SPY is designed to be one tenth of the S&P 500 and QQQQ is designed to be one fortieth of the NASDAQ 100. This feature of ETFs requires the estimation of the difference between the proportional level of the index and the price of the ETF, which is the ETF pricing deviation.
Findings
The paper finds that the DIA, SPY and QQQQ pricing deviations are 0.0429, −0.0743 and 0.4298, respectively. The findings indicate that the prices of DIA and QQQQ are on average lower than the underlying indexes. SPY is the exception having a price which is higher than the theoretical price of the S&P 500 index. The author finds that this is due to the increased demand for the SPY. Additionally, the paper provides an explanation for the large change (increase) in the pricing deviation of QQQQ after December 1, 2004 which DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels could not explain. On December 1, 2004 QQQQ trading was consolidated on NASDAQ. The paper finds negative growth in the volume of QQQQ after December 1, 2004 indicating decrease in popularity of this ETF. The decrease in popularity of QQQQ might explain the increase in its pricing deviation.
Research limitations/implications
The paper uses high frequency data in the analysis of pricing deviation which might be artificially deflating standard errors and thus inflating the t‐test significance values.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the ongoing search in the finance literature of precision ETF performance metrics.
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Naresh Bansal, Ryan McKeon and Marko Svetina
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which introduction of ETFs reduces short‐sale constraints in their constituent stocks.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which introduction of ETFs reduces short‐sale constraints in their constituent stocks.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the introduction of ETFs increases short interest for stocks that they hold. Second, the increase in short interest is highest for the stocks that were most short‐sale constrained. Third, subsequent additions of a stock to an ETF will have a lesser impact on short interest than the first time additions. Finally, using matched control sample and regression analysis approaches, the authors make sure that their results are robust to determinants of short‐selling activity which extant research has found to be relevant.
Findings
When a stock is included in an ETF for the first time, the paper finds that the average monthly short‐selling activity of the stock in the six months following ETF‐inclusion is, on average, 33 percent higher than that in six months prior to the inclusion. This effect is the strongest for stocks that are most short‐sale constrained. The analysis of subsequent additions of stocks to ETFs reveals that the effect of increased short‐selling activity is significantly attenuated when compared to the first‐time additions. All of the findings are robust to the matched sample comparisons and multiple regression analysis that account for determinants of short‐selling activity.
Originality/value
This paper shows that: the introduction of ETFs helps relax short‐sale constraints in the market; that the extent to which a stock's outstanding shares are held by one or more ETFs serves as a proxy for the degree to which stocks are short‐sale constrained; and implies that the introduction of ETFs makes the prices of the funds' underlying securities more efficient.