ProShares [see profile] has kicked off a marketing campaign with the themeline, "The Alternative ETF Company." The rollout is concurrent with today's launch of the Bethesda, Maryland-based firm's new ETF, for which it partnered with Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott.

The new ETF, ProShares RAFI Long/Short, is the first dedicated fund offering a long/short strategy based on Research Affiliates' fundamental index methodology, ProShares officials said in a press release on Thursday.

The press release did not provide further details about the new marketing campaign.

---

Company Press Release

ProShares Launches First Long/Short RAFI ETF Offers access to absolute return strategy

BETHESDA, Md.--ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced the launch of ProShares RAFI® Long/Short (RALS). The ETF, the first dedicated fund that offers a long/short strategy based on Research Affiliate's pioneering Fundamental Index (RAFI®) methodology, lists on NYSE Arca today.

The RAFI approach uses fundamental measures of company size—sales, dividends, cash flow and book value— instead of security price in selecting and weighting securities. The new ETF seeks to match the performance of the RAFI® US Equity Long/Short Index before fees and expenses. The Index takes long positions in companies with large RAFI weights relative to their capitalization weights and short positions in companies with small RAFI weights relative to their capitalization weights. By allocating an equal dollar amount to its long and short positions, the Index is designed to generate an absolute return over a full market cycle.

"We are pleased to partner with Research Affiliates and Rob Arnott on ProShares RAFI Long/Short," said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Advisors LLC, ProShares' investment advisor. "This ETF may appeal to investors looking for strategies that strive to deliver low correlation and favorable returns regardless of market direction."

"Lifting the long-only constraint extends the potential benefits of the RAFI approach," said Rob Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates. "We are excited that ProShares is providing access to another important alternative strategy for investors."

Concurrent with the launch of the ProShares RAFI ETF, ProShares is introducing a new marketing campaign with the themeline, "The Alternative ETF Company®." ProShares introduced the industry’s first, and today is the world's leading provider of, geared (leveraged and inverse) ETFs. Last year, ProShares introduced ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 (CSM), the first ETF of its kind. With the introduction of the ProShares RAFI® Long/Short, ProShares continues to demonstrate its commitment to provide investors with ETFs that pursue alternative strategies.

About ProShares

ProShares is a premier provider of alternative ETFs. The firm offers 112 ETFs with nearly $25 billion1 in assets. The ProShares lineup includes the world’s largest family of geared ETFs. ProShares is part of ProFunds Group, which was founded in 1997 and manages nearly $32 billion1 in mutual fund and ETF assets.

1 Number of funds and assets as of 12/09/2010.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. ProShares are non-diversified and entail certain risks, including risk associated with the use of derivatives (futures contracts, swap agreements and similar instruments), imperfect benchmark correlation, leverage and market price variance, all of which can increase volatility and decrease performance. See the prospectus for a more complete description of risks. There is no guarantee any ProShares ETF will achieve its investment objective.

Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of ProShares before investing. This and other information can be found in their summary and full prospectuses. Read them carefully before investing. Obtain them from your financial advisor or broker/dealer representative or visit proshares.com.

"Research Affiliates Fundamental Index®" and "RAFI®" are trademarks of Research Affiliates, LLC. The RAFI® US Equity Long/Short Index is calculated by Dow Jones Indexes, a licensed trademark of CME Group Index Services LLC (“CME Indexes”). "Dow Jones Indexes" is a service mark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). ProShares based on the RAFI US Equity Long/Short Index, are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by CME Indexes, Dow Jones or their respective affiliates, and CME Indexes, Dow Jones and their respective affiliates make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s).

"ProFunds Group" includes ProFunds mutual funds and ProShares ETFs. ProShares are distributed by SEI investments Distribution Co. which is not affiliated with the advisor.

 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE