Odds & Ends: ETF Industry Sedate in 2023’s First Week

We saw the first launch and the first closure among U.S.-listed ETFs for this year.

The first week of the new year was fairly quiet in the exchange-traded fund world, with only one launch, the Gabelli Commercial Aerospace & Defense ETF (GCAD), a few closures and a handful of changes to existing funds.  

The first closure of the new year completed on Jan. 4 with the shutdown of the Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF (RIGZ). The fund launched in July 2021 and was the worst-performing equity ETF of 2022, excluding leveraged or inverse funds, with a decline of 87%. It was designed as an environmentally friendlier way to gain exposure to cryptocurrency-related firms.  

RIGZ’s closure will soon be followed by that of the Capital Link Global Green Energy Transport & Technology Leaders ETF (EKAR), which will see its last day of trading on or around Jan. 11. The fund made its debut in February 2018 and tracked an index of companies that operate in the electric vehicle space. It was down roughly 26% during 2022.  

Changes to Existing ETFs 

On Jan. 3, the FlexShares Ready Access Variable Income Fund (RAVI) changed its name to the FlexShares Ultra-Short Income Fund. Prior to that, on Dec. 31, three Vident ETFs underwent changes to their names and, in one case, an underlying index.  

The Vident International Equity Fund (VIDI) changed its name to the Vident International Equity ETF, while the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF (VBND) became the Vident U.S. Bond Strategy ETF. Finally, the Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund (VUSE) changed its name to the Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF and its index from the Vident Core U.S. Stock Index to the Vident U.S. Quality Index. 

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]