Boost ETP announced its launch on Wednesday, becoming the latest entrant in the fast-growing European exchange-traded products (ETP) market. The firm’s ambition to carve out a niche as a purveyor of more exotic products looks set to further energize the European market. The firm’s founders, Hector McNeil and Nik Bienkowski, have been active in the European ETP market since its genesis and were both formerly Managing Partners at ETF Securities, where they helped grow assets from just $50 million to $22 billion by the time they left.

Volatility ETNs and ETFs have surged in popularity, helping providers such as iPath, VelocityShares, ProShares, UBS and Source to accumulate billions in assets. However, the chaotic collapse of the VelocityShares VIX ETN (TVIX) earlier this year has led EDHEC-Risk Institute to publish a study into the unique nature of volatility ETNs.

A class action lawsuit filed in 2009 against ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has been dismissed, in its entirety, by a New York judge. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that certain risk disclosures associated with holding leveraged and inverse ETFs for periods longer than one day were omitted from registration statements.

Investors should be cautious about the continued success of volatility targeting investment strategies, despite historical data that show such strategies would have added value in recent years, according to a report from BNY Mellon. Volatility targeting investment strategies increase allocations to stocks during periods of low volatility and sell stocks when volatility is high. These strategies have been embedded into a number of rules-based indices as well as a range of volatility targeting ETFs.

ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative ETFs, has announced the launch of the ProShares Ultra Australian Dollar ETF (GDAY) and the ProShares UltraShort Australian Dollar ETF (CROC). The two funds – the first in the US to deliver double-leveraged long and short exposure to the Australian dollar versus the US dollar – provide investors with an efficient tool to hedge existing exposures or take advantage of tactical short-term trends in the AUD/USD rate.

ProShares, a US-based provider of leveraged and inverse ETFs, has announced the launch of the ProShares UltraPro Financials ETF (FINU) and the ProShares UltraPro Short Financials ETF (FINZ). The ETFs have been listed on the NYSE Arca. The ProShares UltraPro Financials ETF seeks to provide 3x the daily performance of the Dow Jones US Financials Index, while the ProShares UltraPro Short Financials ETF seeks to provide 3x the inverse daily performance of the same index.

ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative ETFs, has announced the launch of the ProShares Short Euro ETF (EUFX), the first -1x euro ETF in the United States. EUFX seeks to provide -1x the daily performance of the US dollar price of the euro, before fees and expenses. The ETF has been listed on the NYSE Arca.

ProShares, a US-based provider of alternative ETFs, has announced the launch of ProShares USD Covered Bond ETF (COBO). This new ETF is the only corporate bond fund – mutual fund or ETF – in the US with substantially all of its assets rated AAA. COBO invests in covered bonds, a type of collateralised corporate debt typically issued by non-US financial institutions. Covered bonds are a popular investment outside the US but previously have not broadly accessible in the US.