ALPS Plans High-Volatility ETF
ALPS, the Denver-based exchange-traded fund sponsor known as one of the first firms to actively market ETFs, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to market a new high-volatility ETF that will track an index of a hypothetical portfolio comprising exchange-traded put options.
The U.S. Equity High Volatility Put Write Index Fund will be listed on Arca, the New York Stock Exchange’s electronic trading platform under the symbol “HVPW,” and will have an annual expense ratio of 0.95 percent, according to the filing. The fund will be ALPS’s fourth ETF.
With the market’s recent upswing, HPVW might be going into registration at a propitious time. High-volatility stocks generally experience significant declines in a bear market, but when stocks are rallying, high-volatility stocks can experience greater gains.
Although low-volatility ETFs, such as the PowerShares S&P Low Volatility ETF (NYSEArca: SPLV), have been popular since they came on the scene last spring, the high-volatility ETF landscape is more limited. HVPW is