Sept To Break ETF Closure Record

September looks like it will be breaking the record of 41 closures that occurred in August 2016. August 2017 saw only five closures, but the tide has changed dramatically this month.

So far, just one week into September, 42 fund closures have either already happened or are scheduled to occur before October.

On Wednesday alone, there were 14 closures, as ProShares weeded out its fund lineup and ETF Managers Group shut down its health care technology ETF. The shuttering funds included the following:

• ETFMG ETFx HealthTech ETF (IMED)
• ProShares USD Covered Bond (COBO)
• ProShares Ultra Junior Miners (GDJJ)
• ProShares German Sovereign/Sub-Sovereign ETF (GGOV)
• ProShares Hedged FTSE Europe ETF (HGEU)
• ProShares Hedged FTSE Japan ETF (HGJP)
• ProShares Short S&P Regional Banking (KRS)
• ProShares Ultra S&P Regional Banking (KRU)
• ProShares UltraShort MSCI Mexico Capped IMI (SMK)
• ProShares UltraShort Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (SOP)
• ProShares UltraShort 3-7 Year Treasury (TBZ)
• ProShares UltraShort TIPS (TPS)
• ProShares Ultra MSCI Mexico Capped IMI (UMX)
• ProShares Ultra Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (UOP)

One-Off Closures

Previously, on the first of the month, the iShares iBonds Sep 2017 Term Muni Bond ETF (IBMF) saw its last day of trading. However, the fund’s closure had been scheduled from the time it launched, given that it is part of iShares target-maturity bond ETF lineup.

That said, two other one-off closures are scheduled for the month, with the closure for the Horizons USA Managed Risk ETF (USMR) set for Sept. 8 and Janus’ The Health And Fitness ETF (FITS) scheduled for Sept. 26.

Elkhorn Plans Closures

Meanwhile, Elkhorn is set to close a large portion of its lineup when it shuts down its nine midcap sector funds on Sept. 14:

• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Consumer Discretionary Portfolio (XD)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Energy Portfolio (XE)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Financial Portfolio (XF)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Health Care Portfolio (XH)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Industrials Portfolio (XI)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Information Technology Portfolio (XK)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Materials Portfolio (XM)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Consumer Staples Portfolio (XS)
• Elkhorn S&P MidCap Utilities Portfolio (XU)

Direxion Shutting Down 12 Funds

Direxion has planned to shut down a dozen of its leveraged and inverse ETFs on Sept. 26. The list is as follows:

• Direxion Daily Energy Bear 1x Shares (ERYY)
• Direxion Daily Financial Bear 1x Shares (FAZZ)
• Direxion Daily Technology Bear 1x Shares (TECZ)
• Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 1x Shares (LABS)
• Direxion Daily Consumer Staples Bear 1x Shares (SPLZ)
• Direxion Daily Utilities Bear 1x Shares (UTLZ)
• Direxion Daily MSCI European Financials Bear 1x Shares (EUFS)
• Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 1x Shares (MELT)
• Direxion Daily Cyber Security & IT Bull 2X Shares (HAKK)
• Direxion Daily Silver Miners Index Bear 2x Shares (DULL)
• Direxion Daily Healthcare Bear 3x Shares (SICK)
• Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Supplies Bear 3x Shares (CLAW)

The Tipping Point
Finally, this morning VanEck announced it will be shutting down four of its ETFs, with the funds set to see their last day of trading Sept. 29. This brings the total number of closures scheduled for September to 42, one more than the 41 that closed in August 2016. The affected VanEck Vectors ETFs include the following:

• VanEck Vectors AMT-Free 12-17 Year Municipal Index ETF (ITML)
• VanEck Vectors AMT-Free 6-8 Year Municipal Index ETF (ITMS)
• VanEck Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT) 
• VanEck Vectors Treasury-Hedged High Yield Bond ETF (THHY)

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]