ETF Watch: Restaurant Fund 'BITE' To Close

Just as its first competitor has arrived on the scene, the first-ever ETF to specifically target the restaurant space has been scheduled to shut down. The Restaurant ETF (BITE) launched in late 2015, but despite its first-of-its-kind status, BITE never managed to gather much in the way of assets. Currently, it has less than $1.5 million.

The fund will see its last day of trading on Dec. 22. Interestingly, its first direct competitor, the USCF Restaurant Leaders ETF (MENU), rolled out in November of this year. BITE’s departure clears the decks for MENU to lay claim to the space and try to gather assets where BITE could not.

Closures are at record levels in 2016, with nearly 125 ETFs shutting down year-to-date, with a few weeks left to the calendar year. The previous record year for closures was 2012, which saw 102 funds close down.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected].