ETF Odds & Ends: New Vietnam Fund Debuts

In addition to several launches during the week, a number of ETFs will undergo significant changes.

It was an active week in the ETF space, with 10 launches taking place in addition to numerous other developments.

Among the launches were new products from Global X, WisdomTree, Direxion and a range of newcomers.

Global X debuted its Global X Vietnam ETF (VNAM) on the NYSE Arca Thursday, with an expense ratio of 0.50%. The fund tracks an MSCI index following Vietnam ADRs across the small, mid and large cap range. 

VNAM is a direct competitor to the $581 million VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM), which uses an in-house index benchmarked against the MSCI Vietnam Index measuring just the mid and large cap segment of the country.

The ETFB Green SRI REITs ETF (RITA) also launched on the NYSE Arca on Thursday, with an expense ratio of 0.50%. The fund follows a FTSE Russell index tracking real estate investment trusts that screens out real estate operators generating more than 5% of revenues from tenants that violate Islamic laws or do not have accreditations from a third-party environmental certification group.

The index rebalances every quarter and reweights based on market capitalization and a modeled score of each REIT's building energy efficiency.

That same day, Direxion rolled out the first-of-its-kind Direxion mRNA ETF (MSGR), which targets companies developing health care treatments based on messenger RNA (mRNA), the same kind of technology that allowed for the first coronavirus vaccines. MSGR lists on the NYSE Arca with an expense ratio of 0.65%.

Also on Thursday, WisdomTree debuted the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI), which focuses on companies involved in artificial intelligence technology, including those that develop and market hardware, software and the semiconductors that underlie the technology. The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.45% and lists on Cboe Global Markets.

The WealthTrust DBS Long Term Growth ETF (WLTG) rolled out on the NYSE Arca Tuesday with an expense ratio of 0.68%.

The actively managed fund picks equities and ETFs across asset classes using a model weighted toward companies with higher momentum factors, consensus estimates from analysts and a higher estimated chance of sustained earnings growth. It intends to hold a portfolio of 25 to 35 companies, most of which would be large caps.

WLTG is also slated to make up 25% and 75% of two model portfolios offered by the Destin, Florida-based WealthTrust.

Closures have also ticked up as the year winds to an end. The Credit Suisse X-Links Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (REML) will be called on Dec. 27 and is just one of roughly a dozen ETFs set to close by the end of the year.

Name/Index/Ticker Changes

A sizable number of funds filed for or enacted index, ticker or name changes around this time period.

Last Friday, the Pacer Benchmark Industrial Real Estate SCTR ETF (INDS) changed its index from the Benchmark Industrial Real Estate SCTR Index to the Kelly Industrial Real Estate Index, and the Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR ETF (SRVR) changed its index from the Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR Index to the Kelly Data Center & Tech Infrastructure Index.

On Tuesday, The Acquirers Fund (ZIG) dropped the Acquirers Index to become actively managed, and lowered its expense ratio from 1.85% to 0.89%.

On Friday, Dec. 10, the VanEck Vectors ChinaAMC SME-ChiNext ETF (CNXT) changed its name to the VanEck ChiNext ETF and its index from the SME-ChiNext 100 Index to the ChiNext Index. Meanwhile, the VanEck Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF (GOAT) changed its ticker from GOAT to MOTG. And the Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF (NUSI) changed its name to the Nationwide Nasdaq-100 Risk-Managed Income ETF.

VanEck is also moving five municipal bond ETFs from Bloomberg indices to ICE indices, according to filings Monday. The VanEck High Yield Muni ETF (HYD), VanEck Intermediate Muni ETF (ITM), VanEck Short High Yield Muni ETF (SHYD), VanEck Short Muni ETF (SMB) and VanEck Long Muni ETF (MLN) will all move to transition indexes starting next March, and will move to their permanent new indexes next December.

On Jan. 3, the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Shareholder Yield Fund (QSY) will change its name to the WisdomTree U.S. Value Fund and its ticker to WTV. Similarly, as of Feb. 7, the Amplify International Online Retail ETF (XBUY) will change its name to the Amplify Emerging Markets FinTech ETF, while its ticker will become EMFQ and its index will change from the EQM International Ecommerce Index to the EQM Emerging Markets Fintech Index.

Finally, as of Feb. 23, the First Trust CEF Income Opportunity ETF (FCEF) will change its name to the First Trust Income Opportunities ETF.

Share Splits

Monday saw the MicroSectors FANG+ Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (FNGD) undergo a 1-for-20 reverse split, while the WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Dividend Fund (DLN) and the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend Fund (DTD) are both set to undergo 2-for-1 forward splits after the close of markets on Dec. 22.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]