All Exchange Traded Products Are NOT Created Equal

Exchange traded products have exploded in both popularity and size. While most of these investments are ETFs (or Exchange Traded Funds), a handful are ETNs (or Exchange Traded Notes). ETFs actually hold assets in the underlying index the fund is designed to track. ETNs, on the other hand, are debt securities issued by the provider, whose return is intended to track a particular index. Because it is a debt instrument, however, there are additional credit risks, and many providers have pulled back their support of such products, leaving some investors holding illiquid securities. See article here, WSJ.

Massive Futures Trade

On December 7, 2016, a single trader apparently took a position of $1.8 billion in S&P500 futures. This was the largest trade of the year, more than doubling the size of the next largest trade. There is speculation regarding the reason behind the trade, but the result was an increase in buying across other traders, driving the market to high levels. See article here, WSJ.