Currently, international equity ETFs are more at risk, compared to domestically focused stock ETFs. Commodity ETFs are the most at risk, followed by leveraged/inverse fund products. Fixed-income products appear more stable than other categories.
Exchange traded notes, on the other hand, are subject to the credit risk of the issuing bank. So far, only 4 ETNs out of about 250 in the U.S. have been closed due to defaults. While the risk is minimal, potential investors should still know that ETNs are not ETFs and come with different risks.
For more information on ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.