Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds, A Comprehensive Guide to Structure, Pricing, and Performance

Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (LETFs) are publicly-traded funds that promise to provide daily returns that are in a multiple (positive or negative) of the returns on an index. To meet that promise, the funds use leverage, which is typically obtained through derivatives such as futures contracts, forward contracts, and total-return swaps. As of the end of 2012, there were over 250 LETFs in North America with total assets of approximately …