SOURCE: Direxion Funds
November 03, 2008 11:41 ET
Direxion Launches Eight New Leveraged ETFs
Innovative Funds Benchmarked to Help Advisors and Investors Seeking to Outperform Major Russell Indexes in Bull and Bear Markets
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - November 3, 2008) - Direxion, a pioneer in providing alternative
investment strategies to sophisticated investors, today announced their
entrance into the ETF space with the Direxion Shares 3x Exchange-Traded
Funds, slated to begin trading Wednesday, November 5, 2008. The new ETFs
are a group of leveraged Bull and Bear index funds that seek 300% of the
daily performance, or 300% of the inverse of the daily performance (before
fees and expenses) of the four distinct Russell indexes they benchmark.
There is no guarantee that the funds will achieve their objective.
The new Direxion Shares ETFs are designed to give investment advisors and
sophisticated investors the ability to execute active trading strategies in
all types of markets. The funds deliver increased market exposure via 3 to
1 leverage, long and short of their respective indices and afford investors
the opportunity to effectively allocate capital to seek improved
risk-adjusted returns. Direxion Shares ETFs represent the highest amount of
leverage, currently available in the ETF space.
"These eight leveraged index Bull and Bear ETFs will give our investors the
ability to achieve increased exposure to the diversified Russell 1000®,
Russell 2000®, Russell 1000® Energy and Russell 1000® Financial
Services Indexes -- critical investment tools for navigating changing
markets," said Dan O'Neill, Direxion Shares' President. "We're thrilled to
be the first to deliver portfolio solutions that track these dynamic
Russell indexes using the power of leverage."
The new Direxion Bull and Bear 3x ETFs include:
Fund Name Symbol Benchmark Leverage
------ ------------------------- --------
Bull Funds
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Large Cap Bull 3x
Shares BGU Russell 1000® Index 300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Small Cap Bull 3x
Shares TNA Russell 2000® Index 300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Russell 1000® Energy
Direxion Energy Bull 3x Shares ERX Index 300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Financial Bull 3x Russell 1000® Financial
Shares FAS Services Index 300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Bear Funds
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Large Cap Bear 3x
Shares BGZ Russell 1000® Index -300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Small Cap Bear 3x
Shares TZA Russell 2000® Index -300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Russell 1000® Energy
Direxion Energy Bear 3x Shares ERY Index -300%
------ ------------------------- --------
Direxion Financial Bear 3x Russell 1000® Financial
Shares FAZ Services Index -300%
------ ------------------------- --------
By providing both Bull and Bear versions of each of the indexes, Direxion
gives investors the ability to seek competitive returns in rising and
falling markets across a wide spectrum of diversified assets. The ETF
structure allows investors to benefit from the flexibility and low cost
features of an exchange traded fund product, coupled with the leveraged
investment solution experience that Direxion Funds is known for in the
mutual fund industry.
"Our new leveraged Bull and Bear ETFs offer an unprecedented level of
leverage in the ETF arena, something that today's dynamic investors are
demanding," said Bill Franca, Direxion's Executive Vice President of Sales
and Distribution. "Direxion Shares will give savvy investors the array of
important investment options they have been seeking to actively capitalize
on the volatility of today's markets."
To request more information on Direxion Shares 3x ETFs, or to speak to a
member of the Direxion team, please contact Melinda Staab at (973) 400-1341
or melinda@jcpublicrelations.com.
About Direxion
Direxion Shares and Direxion Funds, managed by Rafferty Asset Management,
LLC, offer leveraged index funds, ETFs and alternative-class fund products
for investment advisors and sophisticated investors who seek to effectively
manage risk and return in both bull and bear markets. Founded in 1997, the
company has approximately $1.6 billion in assets under management. The
company's business model is built on continuous product innovation,
exceptional customer service and a commitment to building strategic
relationships with distribution partners.
For more information, please visit www.direxionfunds.com or
www.direxionshares.com.
Disclosure:
The correlation sought by the bull and bear funds is generally a multiple
on returns of the index/benchmark. For example, on a given day, the Russell
1000 Index gains 1%, the Direxion Large Cap Bull 3x ETF is managed to gain
approximately 3% (3%= 300% of 1%). If the same index decreased 1%, the
Direxion Large Cap 3x Bear ETF is managed to gain approximately 3%.
The Russell Indexes are constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased
barometer of the market cap segment they represent with no gaps or overlaps
in coverage. All of the indexes are reconstituted annually to ensure new
and growing equities are reflected. Russell 1000 Index -- measures the
large cap segment of the US equity universe. It consists of the largest
1,000 securities in the Russell 3000 Index based on market cap. Russell
2000 Index -- measures the small cap segment of the US equity universe and
includes the smallest 2,000 securities in the Russell 3000 Index based on
market cap. Russell 1000 Energy Index -- measures the performance of all
energy related securities in the Russell 1000 Index. Russell 1000 Financial
Services Index -- measures the performance of all financial services
related securities in the Russell 1000 Index. Indexes are unmanaged and
cannot be invested in directly.
The Russell Indexes noted herein are trademarks of Russell Investments and
have been licensed for use by Direxion Shares. These funds are not
sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Russell Investments and Russell
Investments makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing
in the funds.
An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and
expenses of Direxion Shares carefully before investing. The prospectus
contains this and other information about Direxion Shares. To obtain a
prospectus, please visitwww.direxionshares.com. The prospectus should be
read carefully before investing.
Investing in index funds may be more volatile than investing in broadly
diversified funds. The use of leverage by a fund increases the risk to the
fund. The more a fund invests in leveraged instruments, the more the
leverage will magnify gains or losses on those investments. The risks
associated with the funds are detailed in the prospectus. These include
risks of market timing activity and high portfolio turnover; risk of
tracking error; risks of aggressive investment techniques; leverage risk;
counterparty risks; risks of non-diversification, interest rate changes and
adverse market conditions; risks of shorting instruments; inverse
correlation risk; risks of investing in equity securities; risks of
investing in small- and mid-capitalization companies, credit risk, risks of
investing in real estate instruments; risk of investing in technology
companies; concentration risk and geographic concentration risk. Aggressive
investing would include the use of futures, enhanced betas, and shorting
securities. Shorting securities occurs when investors sell securities they
don't own and are committed to repurchasing eventually.
Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC.