Whiskey ETF To Close

The only U.S.-listed ETF to focus on alcoholic beverages will be shutting down. When the Spirited Funds/ETFMG Whiskey & Spirits ETF (WSKY) launched in October 2016, it was the subject of quite a bit of buzz due to its narrow, unique focus and its clever ticker. However, it failed to live up to its hype.

The fund’s closure was recently announced less than two years after its launch, with less than $15 million in assets under management. The fund will see its last day of trading on June 15.   

We appear to be set up for another record-breaking year in terms of closures. In early June, the number of ETF shutdowns has already breezed past 80. At this time last year, there had only been 33 completed closures.

However, this year’s stunning number appears to be driven by one very unusual event. Remember that back in April, Barclays shut down or delisted roughly half of its ETN lineup, closing 50 products in all. Factor out that iPath sea change, and the number of closures for 2018 is pretty much where 2017 stood at this point in the year. So it’s likely we’ll see another record shattered in 2018, but that may be a bit of an outlier.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]