ETF Odds & Ends: Busy Week Of Launches
Plus, some new closures are on the books.
Last week was an exceptionally busy week for launches, with more than 20 ETFs rolling out, many of which we were unable to cover as they launched.
Monday saw the rollout of four ETFs in all. First Trust made two additions to its defined outcome lineup, unveiling the FT Cboe Vest Nasdaq-100 Buffer ETF – September (QSPT) and the FT Cboe Vest International Equity Buffer ETF – September (YSEP). While the former is tied to the performance of the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), the latter tracks the performance of the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) within set parameters. QSPT has an upside cap before expenses of 13.65% , while YSEP has an upside cap of 12.93% before expenses. Both funds protect against the first 10% of losses, come with expense ratios of 0.90% and list on Cboe Global Markets.
That same day, the actively managed AltShares Event-Driven ETF (EVNT), which will analyze corporate events to determine if it should take long or short positions in companies’ stocks or issued debt, made its debut. EVNT comes with an expense ratio of 1.30% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
Additionally, the Lyrical U.S. Value ETF (USVT) began trading on Monday too. It tracks an index of the most value-oriented 200 stocks out of the largest 1,000 U.S. stocks based on market capitalization. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.49% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
On Tuesday, ETF Managers Group launched a fund that targets companies that provide services or products that assist in the decarbonization of the maritime industry. The ETFMG Breakwave Sea Decarbonization Tech ETF (BSEA) tracks an index of 20 equally weighted securities. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
At the same time, the actively managed Discipline Fund ETF (DSCF) debuted. It invests in stocks and bonds according to two different algorithms and uses a countercyclical rebalancing methodology. DSCF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
Thursday saw the launches of three different ETFs. The Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF (AVLV) is actively managed and looks to invest in large cap U.S. companies that demonstrate strong profitability and value characteristics. It has an expense ratio of 0.15% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
The abrdn Bloomberg Industrial Metals Strategy K-1 Free ETF (BCIM) from Aberdeen Standard tracks the Bloomberg Industrial Metals Total Return Subindex, which offers exposure to aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc. BCIM has an expense ratio of 0.39% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
Finally, the Direxion Daily U.S. Infrastructure Bull 2X Shares (DOZR) also rolled out and is tied to the Indxx US Infrastructure Index and provides 200% of its daily return. The fund charges an expense ratio of 1.07% and lists on the NYSE Arca.
Closures
There was also some activity around closures. Wednesday was the last day of trading for the Trend Aggregation Conservative ETF (TACE) and the Trend Aggregation U.S. ETF (TAEQ), and the pending closure of three Global X ETFs was announced during the week as well.
The following funds will see their last trading day on Oct. 15, with liquidation set for Oct. 22:
- Global X MSCI China Large-Cap 50 ETF (CHIL)
- Global X TargetIncome 5 ETF (TFIV)
- Global X TargetIncome Plus 2 ETF (TFLT)
With the completion of the closures of TACE and TAEQ, the total number of ETF shutdowns for 2021 so far stands at 41, a far cry from the 200 closures that had completed by this time last year.
Name & Index Changes
Other ETFs underwent changes to their names and underlying indexes during the week. As of Sept. 20, the iShares U.S. sector ETFs switched out the Dow Jones-branded indexes they had used since their inception for benchmarks provided by FTSE Russell as follows:
- The iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index to the Russell 1000 Basic Materials RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Consumer Goods ETF (IYK) changed its name to the iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF and its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Index to the Russell 1000 Consumer Staples RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Consumer Services ETF (IYC) changed its name to the iShares U.S. Consumer Discretionary ETF and its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Services Capped Index to the Russell 1000 Consumer Discretionary 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Energy ETF (IYE) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index to the Russell 1000 Energy RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Capped Index to the Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index to the Russell 1000 Health Care RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Industrials ETF (IYJ) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Industrials Index to the Russell 1000 Industrials 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Technology Capped Index to the Russell 1000 Technology RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Select Telecommunications Index to the Russell 1000 Telecommunications RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
- The iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (IDU) changed its index from the Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index to the Russell 1000 Utilities RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index.
Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]