DWS Closes 2 Int'l ETFs

Today is the last day of trading for the Xtrackers Germany and currency-hedged U.K. funds.

Today is the last day of trading for two single-country Xtrackers-brand ETFs from DWS Group: the $2.1 million Xtrackers Germany Equity ETF (GRMY) and the $2.2 million Xtrackers MSCI United Kingdom Hedged Equity ETF (DBUK).

After April 30, the funds will be closed to creations and liquidated. Proceeds from the liquidation will be distributed to shareholders by May 10.

Germany Fund Closes

GRMY is a single-country equity fund designed to provide core developed market exposure at a low cost. The fund, which tracks a market-cap-weighted index of large- and midcap German stocks, costs just 0.09%, matching the Franklin FTSE Germany ETF (FLGR) for cheapest-in-class status.

Notably, GRMY was once an Italian equity ETF trading under the name Xtrackers MSCI Italy Hedged Equity ETF (DBIT). The fund switched name, index and ticker in October 2017.

Whether it was due to the name change or something else, GRMY failed to pick up much in the way of assets under management, despite its low cost.

Hedged UK ETF Shutters

DBUK tracks a currency-hedged version of the MSCI United Kingdom Index, which is also tracked by the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU).

Launched in 2013, DBUK hedges out the exposure to the British pound inherent in investing in U.K. equities, helping to isolate just the performance of the stocks themselves. When the pound falls in value relative to the U.S. dollar, DBUK would presumably outperform its nonhedged peers; and when the pound rises relative to the greenback, DBUK would lag its peers.

At an expense ratio of 0.45%, DBUK is also cheaper than the nonhedged EWU, at 0.47%, the largest fund in the space. Still, like GRMY, DBUK failed to attract much interest from investors.

Contact Lara Crigger at [email protected]