PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stanley Peterburgsky
TI  - Leveraged ETF Pairs: An Empirical Evaluation of Portfolio Performance
AID  - 10.3905/joi.2021.1.196
DP  - 2021 Sep 30
TA  - The Journal of Investing
PG  - 81--97
VI  - 30
IP  - 6
4099  - https://pm-research.com/content/30/6/81.short
4100  - https://pm-research.com/content/30/6/81.full
AB  - We examine the performance of investment strategies involving leveraged and inverse leveraged ETF pairs. As in Jiang and Peterburgsky’s (2017) simulation analysis, the empirical analysis in this article indicates that simple portfolios of bull/bear short positions constructed to approximately mimic an underlying index (such as the S&P 500) outperform the index on a risk-adjusted basis. The outperformance asymptotically diminishes as the investor’s rebalance bounds tighten. Additionally, results indicate that the volatility effect dominates the trend effect for bull leveraged ETFs. This finding is relevant for the debate on the regulation of leveraged ETF markets.Key Findings▪ Simple portfolios of bull/bear short positions in leveraged and inverse leveraged ETFs constructed to approximately mimic an underlying index (such as the S&P 500) outperform the index on a risk-adjusted basis. ▪ The outperformance asymptotically diminishes as the investor’s rebalance bounds tighten. ▪ The volatility effect dominates the trend effect for bull leveraged ETFs.