ETF Odds & Ends: Bloomberg Rebrands Indexes

Plus, Alerian and Galaxy Digital teamed up to develop an index family.

Some five years after acquiring Barclays’ index business, Bloomberg is rebranding the benchmarks in the index family, dropping “Barclays” from its co-branding status. Rather than carrying the “Bloomberg Barclays” name, the indexes will simply be Bloomberg indexes. The change became effective on Aug. 25.

The move has implications for the ETF space, as at least 110 funds track Bloomberg Barclays indexes. Most will simply see the names of their indexes slightly altered, the largest of which is the $89 billion iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG). However, at least a handful should see changes to their actual fund names, including 15 SPDR ETFs provided by State Street Global Advisors.

Bloomberg acquired Barclays’ risk analytics and index business for roughly $787 million in 2016.

Similarly, VanEck Global has announced it will be rebranding its ETF lineup as of Sept. 1. After that, its funds will drop the word “Vectors” from their name. The change will affect the issuer’s entire family of 59 ETFs. As an example, the $13.6 billion VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) will be known as the VanEck Gold Miners ETF.

Alerian & Galaxy Digital Team Up

In a recent announcement, Galaxy Digital Holdings said it has partnered with Alerian and S-network Global Indexes to build a family of indexes related to digital assets. The benchmarks will drill down to cover the blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces via two separate families.

In a press release, Galaxy Digital notes that the indexes will cover cryptocurrency miners, infrastructure technologies and buyers as well as blockchain users. The indexes are equal weighted and rebalance monthly.

The Alerian Galaxy Global Blockchain Indexes and their tickers are as follows:

• The Alerian Galaxy Global Blockchain Equity Index (BLKCHN)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Blockchain Equity and Futures Index (BLKCNF)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Blockchain Equity, Trusts & ETPs Index (BLKCNP)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Blockchain Index (BCHAIN)

The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency-Focused Blockchain Indexes and their tickers are as follows:

• The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency-Focused Blockchain Equity Index (CRYPTE)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency-Focused Blockchain Equity and Futures Index (CRYPTF)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency-Focused Blockchain Equity, Trusts & ETPs Index (CRYPTP)
• The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency-Focused Blockchain Index (CRYPTO)

7 iShares Closures, 4 From Direxion

The week also included the completed closures of seven iShares ETFs. This year has been rather thin for closures, a sharp difference from the record-breaking list of ETF shutdowns we saw at the end of 2020. The latest batch of closed ETFs includes the following:

• iShares Russell 1000 Pure U.S. Revenue ETF (AMCA)
• iShares Adaptive Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (DEFA)
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Mexico ETF (HEWW)
• iShares International Preferred Stock ETF (IPFF)
• iShares Factors U.S. Blend Style ETF (STLC)
• iShares Factors U.S. Mid Blend Style ETF (STMB)
• iShares Factors U.S. Small Blend Style ETF (STSB)

Direxion has announced it will be shutting down four funds, all of which are set to see their last day of trading on Sept. 17:

• Direxion Connected Consumer ETF (CCON)
• Direxion MSCI USA ESG – Leaders vs. Laggards ETF (ESNG)
• Direxion High Growth ETF (HIPR)
• Direxion S&P 500 High minus Low Quality ETF (QMJ)

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]