Dollar ETFs Gives Investors Currency Options
March 2nd at 1:04pm by Tom Lydon
Exposure to the currency markets through exchange traded funds (ETFs) has been limited to a few funds. Rydex Investments was the first to offer currency ETFs and today, offers eight CurrencyShares tracking major world currencies. Marie Bereens of Investor’s Business Daily reports Deutsche Bank and PowerShares launched two ETFs designed to replicate the performance of going long or short on the U.S. dollar. The funds are the PowerShares U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP) and the PowerShares U.S. Dollar Bearish Fund (UDN) that track the New York Board of Trades U.S. Dollar Index.
This index is the most popular measure of the dollar against other currencies; the Euro has a 58% position; Japanese yen 14%; British pound 12%; Canadian dollar 9%; Swedish krona 9%; Swiss franc 3%.
Read the disclosure, as Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex Funds.
