Monday, November 15, 2010

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) Begins Trading Their New Citi Volatility Index Total Return ETN Today (CVOL)

We mentioned this little beastie in "More VIX ETN's Coming: Can they Get Here by Thursday? (VXX)".
The VIX is giving up a big chunk of its gains from Friday, down 6 1/2% so far.
Here's the latest from ETF Daily News:
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) began trading their new “C-Tracks Exchange Traded Notes.
Based on the Performance of the Citi Volatility Index Total Return ETN” (NYSE:CVOL) this morning. The fund opened at $98 a share, with very low volume. The C-Tracks Exchange-Traded Notes Based on the Performance of the Citi Volatility Index Total Return is designed to produce daily returns that are correlated to the CBOE’s VIX Index, a measure of implied volatility of large-cap U.S. stocks....MORE
VIX and More commented:
...The newest VIX ETP approach comes from Citigroup, where their CVOL product not only targets a new portion of the VIX futures term structure (3-4 months), but adds a +2x leverage component and also includes a “variable weighted short position in the S&P 500 Total Return Index” as well....
i.e. 
When I was just a wee little lad full of health and joy,
My father homeward came one night and gave to me a toy.
A wonder to behold, it was, with many colors bright,
And the moment I laid eyes on it it became my heart's delight.
It went "zip" when it moved and "bop" when it stopped,
And "whirr" when it stood still.
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.
The first time that I picked it up, I had a big surprise,
For right on its bottom were two big buttons that,
Looked like big green eyes.
I first pushed one and then the other, and then I twisted its lid,
And when I set it down again, this is what it did:
It went "zip" when it moved and "bop" when it stopped,
And "whirr" when it stood still.
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will....
-Tom Paxton
The Marvelous Toy