This week was even slower than last week, and it was all because of Memorial Day. The most remarkable developments were the announcement that the industry can expect to see the first closures of leveraged and inverse single stock ETFs by mid-June, and that AllianzIM added another two funds to its defined outcome series. There were only two launches during the week, but many more closures.
A Strong Week for Closures
Beyond the planned closures of those single-stock ETFs, there were several other developments in terms of product shutdowns. Perhaps most notably, the last three LifeGoal ETFs are set to see their last day of trading on June 12. The funds launched in 2021. All of them provide different strategies designed for investors with different savings objectives, like a down payment on a house. The final funds in the family include the following:
- LifeGoal Home Down Payment Investment ETF (HOM)
- LifeGoal Conservative Wealth Builder ETF (SAVN)
- LifeGoal Wealth Builder ETF (WLTH)
On Tuesday, the Punk Subversive Metaverse ETF (PUNK) saw its last day of trading. It is the first metaverse-focused ETF to close.
Another fund, the UVA Dividend Value ETF (UVDV), will see its last day of trading on June 20.
And on Thursday, UBS announced the redemption of two of its ETNs. The UBS AG FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN (FIEE) and UBS AG FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN (FIHD) will likely cease to trade after the market close on June 15. The original due dates for the products were scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, but filings indicate that UBS’s merger with Credit Suisse led the issuer to accelerate the redemptions.
Notable Filings
The week also featured several notable filings. A prospectus filed with the SEC by Goldman Sachs is perhaps the most exciting of those, as the issuer has plans to launch a covered-call fund that will directly compete with the blockbuster $26.1 billion JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI).
Also during the week, YieldMax filed plans for 10 ETFs that will feature covered call strategies on individual securities ranging from Exxon to PayPal. The brand already offers covered call strategies on individual stocks, the largest of which is the $80 million YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF (TSLY).
At around the same time, REX Shares, one of the firms behind the MicroSectors ETNs, similarly filed for 18 covered call ETFs tied to individual securities, including six ETFs and 16 stocks.
Additionally, USCF Advisors filed for the USCF Aluminum Strategy Fund (ALUM), an actively managed 40-Act fund that invests primarily in aluminum futures. The product will be the first of its kind as investors have previously only been able to get access to aluminum futures via the soon-to-close iPath Series B Bloomberg Aluminum Subindex Total Return ETN (JJU).
Finally, First Trust plans to launch the First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF. The fund’s underlying index covers the top securities in each sector of the S&P 500 Index based on free cash flow.
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