It was another strong week for launches, with 21 new ETFs added to the industry count. That number includes funds from Capital Group, Dimensional, American Century, BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, YieldMax and newcomer GGM.
A New Brand in ETFs
Over the summer, ETF issuer and roboadvisor FormulaFolios merged with Brookstone Capital Management, adopting the Brookstone name. Several of the funds operated under the FormulaFolios banner later closed. However, the Brookstone brand roared into the ETF space during the week, introducing eight new actively managed funds.
Three of the funds invest in a combination of individual equities and ETFs, and have expense ratios of 0.95%. They are as follows:
- Brookstone Dividend Stock ETF (BAMD)
- Brookstone Growth Stock ETF (BAMG)
- Brookstone Value Stock ETF (BAMV)
Meanwhile, the Brookstone Intermediate Bond ETF (BAMB) and the Brookstone Ultra-Short Bond ETF (BAMU) both invest in fixed income securities and ETFs. Each has an expense ratio of 1.09%.
Three of the ETFs are funds-of-funds that primarily invest in other ETFs. The Brookstone Active ETF (BAMA) can invest across a variety of asset classes via other ETFs. It has an expense ratio of 1.15%.
The description for the Brookstone Opportunities ETF (BAMO) is similar to the one for BAMA, but it charges a higher expense ratio of 1.30%.
Finally, the Brookstone Yield ETF (BAMY) looks to offer investors current income, mainly by investing in other ETFs and in closed-end funds. It has an expense ratio of 1.48%.
The iShares family added a fund that invests in futures contracts on metals needed for energy transition technologies. The iShares Transition-Enabling Metals ETF (TMET) tracks the ICE Clean Energy Transition Metals Index, which covers futures contracts on copper, aluminum, silver, nickel, zinc, platinum, and cobalt. The fund lists on the Nasdaq and has an expense ratio of 0.47%.
Closures & Name Changes
As launches maintained their strong pace, closures seemed to slow, with only two new ones announced during the week. AdvisorShares will close the AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Small Company ETF (DWMC) and the AdvisorShares Let Bob AI Powered Momentum ETF (LETB). The funds will cease to trade after the market close on Oct. 13, with liquidation expected to occur on October 20.
The KFA Value Line Dynamic Core Equity Index ETF (KVLE) changed its name to the KFA Value Line Dynamic Dividend Equity Index ETF as of Friday, while the FT Cboe Vest International Equity Buffer ETF – December (YDEC) will adopt FT Cboe Vest International Equity Moderate Buffer ETF – December as its name as of December 15.
Filings for New ETFs
The week featured some particularly interesting filings. Prudential’s PGIM arm filed for an entire family of defined outcome ETFs offering 12% and 20% downside protection. Like the majority of other buffered ETFs, the funds will tie their performance to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). The filing lists the expected expense ratio for the funds at 0.50%, which would be the cheapest way to get exposure to a typical defined outcome ETF strategy.
Perhaps the most exciting ETF news to come out of this week is the likely rollout of futures-based ethereum ETFs, with VanEck, ProShares, and Bitwise all set to launch funds on Monday. Apparently, the looming government shutdown prompted the SEC to clear some of its backlog, though investors will have to wait until January for further news on the likelihood of a physical bitcoin ETF.
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