Barclays' cull of 21 ETNs puts structure on shaky ground in US Steve Johnson - Financial Times Barclays' decision to axe almost half of its exchange traded note range appears to be eroding support for the structure in the US, but analysis reveals ETNs are showing resilience in Europe. ETNs — born and bred in the US — are unsecured debt obligations issued by a sponsor, typically a bank, which promise to deliver the returns of an underlying investment exposure in return for a fee. /jlne.ws/41mDVyl
ETNs sound like covered warrants. What do you think? "The warrant is "covered"' because when the issuer (a financial institution) sells a warrant to an investor, it will usually hedge (cover) its exposure by buying the underlying asset in the market. A regular warrant, on the other hand, is issued by the company that also issued the underlying shares."
So if you had unrealized gains, you get a tax bill. If you had unrealized losses, you don't get a chance to wait for a move back up... Note to self: Stay clear of ETNs.