Articles Marketmedia

ProShares Announces ETF Reverse Share Split

Written by John D'Antona | Jun 13, 2016 1:38:58 PM

ProShares.com – Bethesda – ProShares, the largest provider of geared ETFs,1 announced today a 1:2 reverse split on ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH).

SH is the largest geared fund in the United States with approximately $3 billion in assets.2 The fund has an average daily volume of about 7 million shares.

The details of the reverse split are as follows:

Ticker ProShares ETF Split Ratio Old CUSIP New CUSIP
SH Short S&P 500 1:2 74347R503 74347B425

The reverse split will be effective on June 24, 2016, when the fund will begin trading at its post-split price. The ticker symbol for the fund will not change. The fund will be issued a new CUSIP number, listed above.

The reverse split will increase the price per share of the fund with a proportionate decrease in the number of shares outstanding. Every two pre-split shares will result in the receipt of one post-split share, which will be priced two times higher than the NAV of a pre-split share.

Illustration of a Reverse Split

The following table shows the effect of a hypothetical 1-for-2 reverse split:

Period # of Shares Owned Hypothetical NAV Value of Shares
Pre-Split 1,000 $10.00 $10,000.00
Post-Split 500 $20.00 $10,000.00

Fractional Shares from Reverse Splits

For shareholders who hold quantities of shares that are not an exact multiple of the reverse split ratio, that is, not a multiple of 2, the reverse split will result in the creation of a fractional share. Post-reverse split fractional shares will be redeemed for cash and sent to your broker of record. This redemption may cause some shareholders to realize gains or losses, which could be a taxable event for those shareholders.

About ProShares

ProShares helps investors to go beyond the limitations of conventional investing and face today’s market challenges. ProShares strives to help investors build better portfolios by providing access to a wide variety of investment exposures and strategies delivered with the liquidity, transparency and cost effectiveness of ETFs. Our wide array of ETFs can help you reduce volatility, manage risk and enhance returns.