The Most Interesting ETF Launches & Closures in January

Issuers launched 73 exchange-traded funds and closed 14 in January, according to data tracked by etf.com. The data, which measures launches and closures for US-listed ETFs, suggests that 2025 could be another record year for new ETF debuts.

A suite of bitcoin buffer ETFs from Calamos were the talk of the industry when they launched earlier this year.

The Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF (CBOJ) gives investors exposure to the first 11% upside in bitcoin prices while protecting them from 100% of the downside should the cryptocurrency go the other way.

Defined Outcome, Buffer ETFs, Lead Launches

Defined outcome ETFs, or funds that use derivatives to offer investors a predefined range of potential returns over a set period, made up many of the new ETF launches in January.

Another breed of derivative funds, leveraged single-stock ETFs, were also prevalent among new ETFs.

The T-Rex 2X Long HOOD Daily Target ETF (ROBN), which tracks the popular stock Robinhood, launched at the end of the month, and 2x ETFs tied to AMD, SOFI, ARM, TSM, and ASML also launched.

Cannabis ETF, Emerging Markets Closures

Meanwhile, on the closures side, the Amplify US Alternative Harvest ETF (MJUS) was a notable fund to shut down in January.

The fund had $62 million in AUM at the time of its closure, though it had as much as $173 million in assets under management a year ago.

Also shutting down during the month was the iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF (FM), which closed with $188 million in AUM. The 12-year-old fund had $841 million in assets at its peak in 2014 and had $730 million in AUM as recently as 2023.

In announcing the shuttering of the fund in June, 2024, BlackRock suggested the liquidity issues were responsible for the end of the ETF.

“BlackRock has provided investors access to new and expanding corners of the capital markets, and several of these frontier market countries have been elevated to emerging market status. Select portions of the remaining smaller universe of frontier markets have experienced persistent liquidity challenges, and as a result, there will be an extended liquidation period for the fund,” the firm said at the time.

Check out etf.com launches and closures pages to see other ETFs that have debuted and shut down so far this year.