ETF Odds & Ends: Regents Park Adds Hedged Fund

It was a busy week, especially for expense ratio changes.

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Reviewed by: Heather Bell & Dan Mika
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Edited by: Heather Bell & Dan Mika

A total of eight funds launched during the week ended April 1, with the ETF industry finishing the quarter with a total of 115 launches.

Those include the Regents Park Hedged Market Strategy ETF (RPHS), which debuted on the Cboe Global Markets Thursday. It charges a management fee of 0.75% plus 2 basis points in acquired fund fees upon launch for a total expense ratio of 0.77%. 

The actively managed ETF holds a mix of equities in the S&P 500 and derivatives of the index based on the advisor’s goal of hedging potential downturns in the market. 

Regents Park is the issuer behind six other ETFs with unique strategies, but this is the first to bear the firm’s brand name.

Additional Launches

The Optica Rare Earths & Critical Materials ETF (CRIT) rolled out on the NYSE Arca on Tuesday with an expense ratio of 0.85%. 

CRIT is the debut ETF from Australia-based Optica Capital and tracks a custom index of companies in the U.S., Canada, European Union and Australia that get at least half of their revenue from materials deemed to be rare earth minerals or critical to a country’s economic and national security.  

The fund is 26 basis points more expensive than the $1 billion VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), its main rival in the thematic space. 

The Columbia Seligman Semiconductor and Technology ETF (SEMI) listed on the NYSE Arca on Wednesday with a 0.75% expense ratio. 

The actively managed fund invests in companies categorized in the semiconductor industry or a related industry by GICS, with no limits on company size or geography. The fully is semitransparent, using a trading basket rather than disclosing all of its positions at the end of trading each day. 

SEMI is the first Columbia ETF to use the Seligman brand name. The firm operates two mutual funds with the Seligman tag with a combined $12.6 billion in assets under management. 

Also on Wednesday, Avantis added another ESG fund to its lineup with the rollout of the Avantis Responsible Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVSE) on the NYSE Arca. The fund joins two other actively managed ESG funds in the brand’s lineup that were launched earlier in the month.

The fund aligns with Avantis’ core approach, which looks to select companies with exposure to the small size, profitability and value factors. However, it also applies ESG screens to the companies in its selection universe, excluding those that are involved in controversial industries.

The OneAscent Core Plus Bond ETF (OACP) launched on the NYSE Arca Thursday with a 0.50% management fee and a 0.29% in additional fees upon launch that are subject to variance. 

The actively managed fund purchases bonds of any credit quality or duration with an emphasis on current income. It screens out debt from companies involved in promoting or enabling abortion, adult entertainment, tobacco, predatory lending or have ethics controversies. 

The R3 Global Dividend Growth ETF (GDVD) debuted on the NYSE Arca Thursday, charging an expense ratio of 0.88%. 

The actively managed fund targets companies expected by the advisor to issue consistent dividends. There are no limits on company size or geographic location. 

Closures

Closures are ramping up and outpacing last year’s rate, which saw record launches, but the fewest ETF shutdowns in almost a decade. Although currently trailing last year, by the time scheduled closures are completed in early May, 2022 will be leading 2021 during the same time period.

The LGBTQ + ESG100 ETF (LGBT), which was launched less than a year ago by ProcureAM, will see its last day of trading on April 20. The fund seeks to invest in companies that support workplace equality for the LGBTQ community and have strong ESG characteristics.

Changes To Existing ETFs

A number of ETF families are also making changes to their existing funds.

During the week, Inspire ETFs added “ESG” into the names of multiple funds in its lineup so that they are as follows:

The RiverNorth Volition America Patriot ETF (FLDZ) has changed its name to the RiverNorth Patriot ETF, and the FCF International Quality ETF (TTAI) changed its index from the S&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI to the MSCI All Country World Index ex USA.

On May 23, the Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (RIGZ) will change its name to the Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF.

And today, the Invesco BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund (ADRE) changed its index from the S&P/BNY Mellon Emerging 50 ADR Index to the S&P Emerging 50 ADR Index.

On June 1, the iShares MSCI USA Multifactor ETF (LRGF) will change its name to the iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF and its index from the MSCI USA Diversified Multiple-Factor Index to the STOXX U.S. Equity Factor Index. The iShares MSCI Intl Multifactor ETF (INTF) will change its name to the iShares International Equity Factor ETF and its index from the MSCI World ex USA Diversified Multiple-Factor Index to the STOXX International Equity Factor Index that same day.

Principal also has changes planned for its funds this summer, which will all drop their indexes to become actively managed. The affected funds are as follows:

Expense Ratio Changes

There was a wide range of expense ratio changes during the week. They are as follows:

Also, during the week, two Direxion ETFs underwent 1-for-10 reverse splits: the Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exp. & Prod. Bear 2X Shares (DRIP) and the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (SOXS).

 

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]