Wednesday, August 31, 2011

TBF Comparison to 30 year Treasury Yield

Up until mid 2009, the only inverse long bond ETF that a bond bear could utilize was TBT.  TBT is a 2x inverse ETF though, and due to the properties of double levered ETFs, it has been a particularly poor long term holding.  A TBT holder who bought in January '09 has lost 30% even though the 30 year bond yield is about 40% higher over the same period.  

In 2010, ProShares introduced a non-levered inverse long bond ETF, TBF.  For someone with a long term view that rates will rise, this may be a better instrument than TBT.  Below is a comparison of the longer term performance of TBF vs. the yield on the 30 year treasury bond ($TYX).  The two have tracked much more closely than TBT over time.

Click to Enlarge.
(Unfortunately the scale is slightly skewed because the two series are plotted on separate axes.)





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