It took two months, but Barclays finally came around to my way of thinking, rebranding its inverse volatility ETN with the iPath name. What was once Barclays ETN+ Inverse S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (XXV) is now (effective 9/28/10) the iPath Inverse S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (XXV).
Back in July I chastised Barclays in XXV: Barclays Abandons iPath Brand with Inverse Volatility ETN for failing to apply the successful iPath brand to this product. Representatives from Barclays informed me that although they kept the iPath name when selling the iShares product line to BlackRock, they did give up the distribution rights.
The prospectus and updated pricing supplement dated September 27, 2010 (pdf) now identify BlackRock as the distributor and iPath as the brand. The former links at the BARX website for XXV are no longer valid. Information can now be found at:
- XXV overview on iPath website
- XXV iPath fact sheet (pdf)
Other ETNs from Barclays were not affected by this announcement. The following products remain under the Barclays ETN+ brand (on the BARX website) and are not part of the iPath lineup:
- Barclays ETN+ S&P VEQTOR ETN (VQT)
- Barclays No-Reset Leveraged ETNs (BXBD, BXUC, BXDC, BXUB, and BXDD)
- Barclays Currency ETNs (AYT, JEM, and PGD)
Disclosure covering writer, editor, and publisher: No positions in any of the securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned. No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.