High Turnover ETF To Close

According to FactSet, an ETF that is rebalanced weekly and designed to capture the performance of U.S. large-cap stocks likely to see short-term appreciation is set to close near the end of this month. The Volshares Large Cap ETF (VSL) will shut down on Jan. 30, less than a year after its launch.

New issuer Whitford Asset Management debuted the fund in late February 2018. VSL aims to reflect market sentiment, and selects its holdings from the 500 largest U.S.-listed stocks using a quantitative approach. The equally weighted portfolio includes the 25 stocks that are ranked as most likely to see short-term appreciation and also have exhibited low volatility.

The product currently has only $621,000 in assets under management, which is the most likely reason for its closure. VSL is the second ETF to close in 2019, following on the heels of the shutdown of the ProSports Sponsors ETF (FANZ), another fund that failed to gather significant assets.

2018 was a record year for ETF closures, with 152 shutdowns. Invesco has already announced it will close 19 ETFs in February in the wake of a series of acquisitions.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]