Traders daring enough to confront geopolitical volatility to make long bets on the Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSEArca: RSX) are paying up to hedge those bets.
Highlighting the skittishness that is often associated with trading Russian stocks and ETFs like RSX from the long side, the cost of hedging those long position in RSX has jumped to a 17-month high, reports Natasha Doff for Bloomberg.
“Options hedging on RSX cost 5.9 points more than calls to buy, about 13 percent above the average cost of protection over the past year. The premium for puts over calls increased to a high of 8.1 points on Aug. 25,” according to Bloomberg.
The increased hedging costs on RSX comes as the largest and most heavily traded Russia ETF is rapidly gathering assets. Through Aug. 28, RSX has added nearly $213 million in assets this month, putting the ETF on pace for its best monthly inflows since March. [Russia ETFs Gain Cash]
RSX was sporting a gain for this month until this week. Assuming Friday’s losses are not pared, RSX will close down at least 5.3% this week.
Even with the data that indicate some traders are willing to pay up to protect their long positions in RSX, other data suggest other traders are becoming increasingly aggressive with their bullish wagers on Russia ETFs.