Does anyone have any strong opinions on here as to whether these two ETFs are considered "Substancially Identical" for tax purposes(wash sales)? One is short(SVXY) and the other is long(UVXY). One is .5x levered and the other is 1.5x levered. They track the same index, but in different ways, so its open for interpretation one would think. Thanks for the help!
For tax purposes, I think they'll be considered the same even though inverse and different leverage. Both based upon the same underlying market (VXX). Other than leverage difference, they hold the exact same product (CBOE vix futures).
I guess another question would be, would my broker automatically label it a wash sale? I am not sure if they do that for individuals who do flips of VOO and SPY for example. Maybe its all up to the individual for identifying "substantially identical" securities.
Brokers only report wash sales of identical symbols. It's up to individual trader to report wash sales of other "substantially identical" trades. I'm guessing many get unreported. Soooooo many trades that would take enormous amount to time to audit individual trades.