香港首批杠杆交易所交易基金（杠杆ETF）挂牌上市，旨在利用亚洲对结构性产品的需求。与此同时，西方监管机构正在研究杠杆EFT及其他高风险ETF的相关机制。

Samsung Asset Management yesterday launched four ETFs on the Hong Kong Exchange, betting on and against the Kospi 200 and the Topix.

三星资产运用(Samsung Asset Management)昨日在香港交易所(HKEx)挂牌4只ETF产品，对韩国KOSPI 200指数和日本东证指数(Topix)的涨跌进行押注。

Leveraged funds use derivatives to amplify returns, while inverse funds go short — betting on market falls via derivatives.

杠杆基金利用衍生品放大回报，而反向基金则进行做空——通过衍生品押注市场下跌。

Leveraged ETFs account for roughly 2 per cent of the $3tn-plus invested in the products, but account for more than 12 per cent of ETF average trading volumes, according to ETFGI, a research consultancy.

根据研究咨询机构ETFGI的数据，杠杆ETF在全球投资ETF产品的逾3万亿美元资金中约占2%，但在ETF平均交易量中占比超过12%。

Both Hong Kong and Singapore this year approved rules for leveraged and inverse ETFs, which are popular in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea — all with high retail investor interest in structured and leveraged products.

香港和新加坡都在今年批准了杠杆和反向ETF的相关法规。这类产品在日本、台湾和韩国很流行，这些市场的散户投资者对结构性产品和杠杆产品都有很强的兴趣。

Hong Kong’s rules allow for two-times leverage while Singapore allows three times, but restrict sales to qualified investors.

香港的法规允许两倍杠杆，新加坡允许三倍杠杆，但只对合格投资者销售。

Neither will yet allow products betting on or against mainland Chinese markets — seen as the segment most likely to attract appetite.

这两地还不会批准押注于中国内地市场涨跌的产品，它们被视为最有可能引起投资者兴趣的产品类型。

But the opening comes as US regulators are examining whether to limit the use of derivatives for mutual funds, including ETFs, over concerns that the leverage involved exposes investors to increased risk.

在香港和新加坡放行杠杆ETF之际，美国监管机构正在研究是否要限制包括ETF在内的共同基金使用衍生品工具，原因是担心相关的杠杆可能放大投资者的风险。

A series of class action lawsuits has previously been launched against the products, and Federal Reserve officials have warned against their use in times of stress.

此前曾有一系列针对这类产品的集体诉讼，美联储(Fed)官员也警告不要在市场低迷时期使用这类产品。

Earlier this month, Oppenheimer, the fund manager, was ordered to pay $2.9m in fines and restitution for selling complex ETFs to vulnerable retail investors.

本月早些时候，基金管理公司奥本海默(Oppenheimer)因向脆弱的散户投资者销售复杂的ETF产品，被责令缴纳290万美元的罚款和赔偿。

Samsung launched Asia’s first leveraged ETFs in South Korea seven years ago and said there had been no major reported grievances by investors since.

三星于7年前在韩国发售了亚洲首批杠杆ETF产品，该公司表示此后并无有关投资者不满的重大报告。

Sung-Hoon Koo, chief executive of Samsung AM, said: “Unfortunately it seems that in the early stages of investment in these products in the US, there wasn’t that much focus on investor education. We have learnt from that. I think [leveraged ETFs] intrinsically are not more risky than products already available in Hong Kong. It’s just that there’s this perception.”

三星资产运用首席执行官Sung-Hoon Koo表示：“遗憾的是，美国在这类产品投资的早期阶段似乎不太关注投资者教育。我们从中吸取了教训。我认为（杠杆ETF）本质上并不比香港已有产品风险更大。只不过是有些人以为这样而已。”

The products are designed for short-term use and reset daily, meaning, over a set period, an ETF can produce losses despite its underlying index ending higher because of volatility.

这些产品是为短期持有所设计，每天都进行重新调整，这意味着，在一段时期内，尽管标的指数最终升高，一只ETF产品却可能因为波动性而产生亏损。

Leveraged and inverse products are popular with exchanges because of the increased trading volume they bring.

杠杆和反向ETF产品在交易所很受欢迎，因为它们带来了交易量的增加。

Taiwan reported last year average daily ETF trading up 45 per cent compared with the previous year, mostly due to its introduction of such products.

据报道，去年台湾的日均ETF交易量相比上一年增长45%，主要就是因为推出了杠杆及反向ETF产品。

But there are fears ETFs can move markets.

但也有人担忧ETF可能引发市场波动。

In October, Next Funds Nikkei 225 Leveraged index was forced to suspend subscriptions for fear demand would overwhelm available liquidity.

去年10月，日本“Next Funds日经225指数杠杆ETF”(Next Funds Nikkei 225 Leveraged index ETF)被迫暂停认购，原因是有关方面担心其对股指期货的需求会淹没既有的流动性。