Drone ETF Shifts Focus To Cloud Tech

Yesterday, ETF Managers Group oversaw a complete overhaul of its ETFMG Drone Economy Strategy ETF (IFLY). The move was very similar to how the issuer rolled out its ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), which was originally a Latin America real estate fund.

IFLY now tracks the Dan Ives Global Cloud Technology Prime Index, rather than the Reality Shares Drone Index, and has changed its name and ticker to the Wedbush ETFMG Global Cloud Technology ETF (IVES).

IFLY had about $33 million in assets under management at the end of February, though the assets likely took a hit during the market crash in March. The change, however, has been in the works since at least mid-February. That said, a lot of IFLY investors may be surprised that they are now invested in an entirely different fund.

First Trust Debuts Volatility ETF

Yesterday, First Trust rolled out an actively managed ETF that looks to provide low-volatility exposure to small- and midcap stocks, with the goal of capturing upside performance while limiting downside risk. The strategy for the First Trust Horizon Managed Volatility Small/Mid ETF (HSMV) relies on volatility forecasting models to select and weight the securities in its portfolio.

HSMV comes with an expense ratio of 0.80% and lists on the NYSE Arca.

The portfolio management process for HSMV is mainly quantitative, with securities with lower expected volatility assigned higher weights and those with higher expected volatility given lower weights in the portfolio, according to the prospectus.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]