ProShares
{{Short description|Issuer of exchange-traded funds}}
{{Infobox company
| name = ProShares
| industry = Financial services
| founded = ProFunds Group: {{start date and age|1997}}
ProShares: {{start date and age|2006}}
| founders = Louis Mayberg
Michael Sapir
| location = Bethesda, Maryland
| products = Exchange-traded funds
| website = {{URL|https://www.proshares.com//}}
}}
ProShares is an issuer of exchange-traded funds, including inverse exchange-traded funds, and similar products.{{Cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/etfchannel/2019/09/03/how-the-parts-add-up-the-proshares-ultrapro-qqq-etf-targets-67/ |title=How The Parts Add Up: The ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF Targets $67 | work=Forbes | date=September 3, 2019}}
History
ProFunds Group was founded in 1997 by former Rydex employees Louis Mayberg and Michael Sapir for $100,000.{{Cite news | first=Julie | last=Creswell | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB881944905917332500 | title=Former Rydex Employees Launch Competing Mutual-Fund Families | date=December 12, 1997 |work=The Wall Street Journal | url-access=subscription | issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news | last=Brandstrader | first=J. R. | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB891652727401845500 | title=Dialing Up Dollars | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=April 6, 1998 | url-access=subscription | issn=0099-9660}} That year, it introduced bear market inverse mutual funds.
In 2006, ProFunds Group launched ProShares and its first inverse exchange-traded fund.{{Cite news | url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/etfs/inverse-etfs-on-markets-good-side-10434525 | title=Inverse ETFs on Market's Good Side | last=Fisher | first=Billy | work=TheStreet.com | date=August 26, 2008}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/profunds-readies-first-leveraged-etfs | title=ProFunds prepares first leveraged ETFs | first=John | last=Spence | work=MarketWatch | date=May 29, 2006 | url-access=limited}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0618/082.html | title=Build Your Own Hedge Fund | work=Forbes | date=June 1, 2007 | url-access=limited}}
In October 2021, the company launched an exchange-traded fund that invests in Bitcoin futures contracts.{{Cite press release | url=https://www.proshares.com/news/proshares_launches_first_us_bitcoin_linked_etf.html | title=ProShares to Launch the First U.S. Bitcoin-Linked ETF on October 19 | publisher=ProShares | date=October 18, 2021}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/19/bitcoin-etf-launches/ | title=Bitcoin-based fund's expected launch will make it easier for investors to buy a stake in crypto | first=Tory | last=Newmyer | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=October 19, 2021 | url-access=limited}}
On October 2, 2023, ProShares launched 3 Ethereum Futures ETFs in the US, becoming one of the first companies to launch an Ethereum ETF in US history.{{Cite web |date=2 October 2023 |title=Ethereum ETFs: 7 New Ethereum ETFs launched {{!}} COINOTAG |url=https://en.coinotag.com/bitcoin-takes-a-hit-underwhelming-crypto-etf-launches-fuel-concerns/ |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=en.coinotag.com}}
References
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