The managers behind the United States Natural Gas (NYSEArca: UNG) exchange traded fund (ETF) have filed to resume the creation of new shares. But the move could have a big impact on the fund’s price.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the notice acknowledges that if new share are created, even on a smaller scale, the premium at which the fund is currently trading could be eliminated. On Friday, UNG had been trading at a more than 16% premium, Don Dion for TheStreet reports.
The creation won’t resume until Sept. 28, but it may have an immediate impact on UNG’s share price.
As a result of expected regulations from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), several funds halted the issuance of new shares. Regulators are still considering more limits and impositions to place upon the trading of these shares, but it could lead to unintended consequences.
By halting the issuance of new shares, these ETFs became similar to closed-end funds (CEFs), which issue a fixed number of shares, then trade on exchanges. The result has been that because some ETFs stopped issuing new shares even as demand for commodity investments remained strong, they began trading at a premium to their net asset value (NAV).
Thomas M. Anderson for Kiplinger reports that most ETFs and exchange traded notes (ETNs) use derivatives, usually futures contracts, to simulate the returns of a commodity or commodity index. Most of the ETFs do not hold the actual physical commodity.
The popularity of these funds has made them a target for regulators, who suspect them of being at least part of the cause of rapid price swings and irregularity. The CFTC has not officially decided upon position limits yet for exchange traded products. A decision is expected by the end of this month.
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