A record number of exchange traded product (“ETP”) closures took place in October. The 30 delistings broke the old record of 24, which sponsors established just one month ago. The year-to-date closure count of 89 (as of October 31) is already a calendar-year record, and at least eight more ETFs will be lights out before the end of the year.
October marks the first time ETP listing counts have declined for three consecutive calendar months. The month ended with 1,439 listings, consisting of 1,234 ETFs and 205 ETNs. This is the lowest month-end quantity in seven months. Based on month-end data, the three-month decline in listings totals 47. Using intra-month data results in a larger decline of 57 with listings hitting an all-time high of 1,490 on August 15 and a post-peak low (so far) of 1,433 on October 19.
New product launches numbered only 13 (11 ETFs and 2 ETNs) in October. This quantity would normally be considered a light month for much of the past three years, but it is actually the highest number of introductions since April.
Assets under management also declined in October. However, the drop amounts to less than 1% and is not of any concern. Despite the recent spate of closures and increases in products on ETF Deathwatch, the ETF industry is very much alive and well.
ETFs with more than $10 billion of assets number only 26 yet account for more than half (51.3%) of all ETP assets. At the other end of the spectrum, the smallest 774 products constitute nearly 54% of the listed products while accounting for only 1.0% of the assets.
Trading activity picked up in October for the second month in a row. Total dollar volume came in at $1.1 trillion, a 6.3% improvement over September, even though Hurricane Sandy was responsible for a two-day weather related closure. SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) was responsible for 35.3% of all ETP dollars traded. It briefly fell below the one-third threshold last month when it managed to capture “only” a 33.2% share.
ETPs averaging more than $1 billion per day in dollar volume held steady at six while capturing a 53.8% share. Products averaging more than $100 million per day declined from 73 to 68 while capturing 85.9% of trading activity. The quantity with more than $10 million of trading per day edged up from 236 to 240 while grabbing 95.4% of trading action.
| October 2012 Month End | ETFs | ETNs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currently Listed U.S. | 1,234 | 205 | 1,439 |
| Listed as of 12/31/2011 | 1,166 | 203 | 1,369 |
| New Introductions for Month | 11 | 2 | 13 |
| Delistings/Closures for Month | 29 | 1 | 30 |
| Net Change for Month | -18 | +1 | -17 |
| New Introductions 6 Months | 47 | 7 | 54 |
| New Introductions YTD | 141 | 18 | 159 |
| Delistings/Closures YTD | 73 | 16 | 89 |
| Net Change YTD | +68 | +2 | +70 |
| Actively-Managed Listings | 55 | – | 55 |
| Assets Under Mgmt ($ billion) | $1,270 | $17.2 | $1,287 |
| % Change in Assets for Month | -0.9% | -1.9% | -0.9% |
| Qty AUM > $10 Billion | 26 | 0 | 26 |
| Qty AUM > $1 Billion | 170 | 3 | 173 |
| Qty AUM > $100 Million | 552 | 25 | 577 |
| Monthly $ Volume ($ billion) | $1,083 | $26.8 | $1,109 |
| % Change in Monthly $ Volume | +5.8% | +44.1% | +6.3% |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $1 Billion | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $100 Million | 66 | 2 | 68 |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $10 Million | 230 | 10 | 240 |
Data sources: Daily prices and volume of individual ETPs from Norgate Premium Data. Fund counts and all other information compiled by Invest With An Edge.
New products launched in October (sorted by launch date):
1. IQ Hedge Market Neutral Tracker (QMN) [New Market Neutral ETF from Index IQ]
2. Barclays ETN+ Shiller CAPE ETN (CAPE) [New Barclays Shiller CAPE Sector Rotation ETN]
3. FlexShares Ready Access Variable Income Fund (RAVI) [FlexShares Introduces Enhanced Money Market ETF]
4. EGShares Emerging Markets Core ETF (EMCR) [EGShares Brings New Approach To Emerging Market ETFs]
5. Vanguard Short-Term Inflation Protected Securities Index Fund (VTIP)
6. ETRACS Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (MORL)
7. PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Portfolio (SPHD)
8. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) [iShares Introduces Core ETF Lineup]
9. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG)
10. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS)
11. iShares Core Short-Term Bond ETF (ISTB)
12. SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF (VLU)
13. SPDR S&P 1500 Momentum Tilt ETF (MMTM)
Product closures/delistings in October (sorted by name):
1. Global X Aluminum ETF (ALUM) [Global X Closing 4 Struggling ETFs]
2. Global X Auto ETF (VROM)
3. Global X NASDAQ 400 Mid Cap ETF (QQQM)
4. Global X NASDAQ 500 ETF (QQQV)
5. iPath Long Enhanced S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN II (VZZB) [ETP Closures Hit 300]
6. Russell 1000 High Beta ETF (HBTA) [Russell Makes Strategic Retreat From Index ETF Biz]
7. Russell 1000 High Momentum ETF (HMTM)
8. Russell 1000 High Volatility ETF (HVOL)
9. Russell 1000 Low Beta ETF (LBTA)
10. Russell 1000 Low Volatility ETF (LVOL)
11. Russell 2000 High Beta ETF (SHBT)
12. Russell 2000 High Momentum ETF (SHMO)
13. Russell 2000 High Volatility ETF (SHVY)
14. Russell 2000 Low Beta ETF (SLBT)
15. Russell 2000 Low Volatility ETF (SLVY)
16. Russell Aggressive Growth ETF (AGRG)
17. Russell Consistent Growth ETF (CONG)
18. Russell Contrarian ETF (CNTR)
19. Russell Developed ex-U.S. High Momentum (XHMO)
20. Russell Developed ex-U.S. Low Beta ETF (XLBT)
21. Russell Developed ex-U.S. Low Volatility ETF (XLVO)
22. Russell Equity Income ETF (EQIN)
23. Russell Growth at a Reasonable Price ETF (GRPC)
24. Russell High Dividend Yield ETF (HDIV)
25. Russell Low P/E ETF (LWPE)
26. Russell Small Cap Aggressive Growth ETF (SGGG)
27. Russell Small Cap Contrarian ETF (SCTR)
28. Russell Small Cap Consistent Growth ETF (SCOG)
29. Russell Small Cap High Dividend Yield ETF (DIVS)
30. Russell Small Cap Low P/E ETF (SCLP)
Product changes in October:
1. iPath S&P VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) had a 1-for-4 reverse split effective October 5, 2012.
2. Eight ProShares ETFs underwent a 1-for-4 reverse split and one ETF a 2-for-1 forward split effective October 5, 2012. The reverse split funds are TBT, SDS, SDOW, SMN, UBR, RXD, SZK, and GLL. SVXY had a 2-for-1 forward split.
3. iShares repositioned 6 existing ETFs to be part of the new iShares Core lineup effective October 17. Two ticker symbols changed in the process, with ISI becoming ITOT and GLJ becoming ILTB. ILTB changed its underlying index to Barclays U.S. Long Government/Credit Bond Index effective October 23.
4. AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF (HDGE) was renamed AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (HDGE) effective October 29, 2012.
5. PIMCO renamed 18 of its 19 ETFs so that all 19 now end with the words “Exchange-Traded Fund” effective October 31, 2012.
6. State Street updated the names of 24 Bond ETFs to reflect changes in the underlying index names from “Barclays Capital” to “Barclays” effective October 31, 2012.
Announced Product Changes for Coming Months:
1. Vanguard is changing the underlying indexes for 22 of its funds over the coming months. Six international funds will move from MSCI to FTSE indexes while 16 domestic products will transition from MSCI to CRSP indexes.
2. QuantShares is closing three market neutral ETFs with November 2 being the last day of trading for NOMO, BTAH, and QLT.
3. WisdomTree is closing three ETFs in December (two actively managed currency funds and one tracking an earnings weighted large cap growth index). December 3 will be the last day of trading for JYF, SZR, and ROI.
4. Guggenheim will terminate on or about December 31 the Guggenheim BulletShares 2012 Corporate Bond (BSCC) and the Guggenheim BulletShares High Yield Corporate Bond (BSJC) ETFs due to their planned maturity and liquidation.
Previous monthly ETF statistics reports are available here.
This article was originally written by Ron Rowland, and posted on InvestWithAnEdge.
