Take an in-depth look into ETFs that didn’t survive and see what causes a fund to fail and what warning signs you should look for.
Looking at the funds that didn’t make it into the new decade gives can show us what causes ETFs to fail. Investors and advisors can learn what to expect from funds managed with a similar structure and predict what to buy and what to avoid. Although many of these ETFs had experienced fund managers and major issuers, they still saw disappointing returns that didn’t make the fund sustainable.
Many of the funds mentioned have holdings that are like more successful ETFs; the difference being what weighting those companies have within the fund. You can also find thematic ETFs and socially responsible funds that weren’t able to catch traction. All the exchange-traded funds mentioned on this list were closed in the last two months of the year 2019. The data collected come from Bloomberg, ETF.com, and Yahoo Finance.
- United States 3x Oil Fund (USOU)
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ETF |
United States 3x Oil Fund (USOU) |
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Date Closed |
12/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD23.32m |
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Total Assets |
USD15.159m |
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This exchange-traded fund under the USCF Investments fund family was launched on July 20, 2017 and incorporated in the USA under the USCF Investments fund family. The commodity ETF was under the trading-leveraged commodities category. When the ETF was closed, its top two holdings were Future Contract On Wti Crude Future Jan20, which accounted for 76.24% of the assets, and the United States Treasury Bills, which accounted for 0.08%. It closed with –20.35% one-year returns and –7.48% three-month returns. The fund did worse in the year 2018 with an annual total return of –64.68%. |
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- United States 3x Short Oil Fund (USOD)
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ETF |
United States 3x Short Oil Fund (USOD) |
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Date Closed |
12/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD6.07m |
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Total Assets |
USD4.251m |
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Incorporated in the USA, this fund was opened on July 20, 2017 under the USCF Investments fund family. The exchange-traded fund closed with the net asset value of USD6.07m and total assets of USD4.251. USOD is a commodity ETF under the Trading-Inverse Commodities category. With its one-year return being a devastating -65.96% and its three-month return was -26.86%, it’s not a wonder why this fund didn’t see another year. Its performance in 2018 was a little better with an annual total return of 14.91% but still not good enough to get itself out of the hole in its last year. |
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- PIMCO 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index ETF (TUZ)
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ETF |
PIMCO 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index ETF (TUZ) |
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Date Closed |
12/11/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD50.82m |
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Total Assets |
USD50.908m |
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This exchange-traded fund was managed by Steve Rodosky and Matthew Dorsten “Matt” and was created on June 2, 2009. The fund was liquidated with a net asset value of USD50.82m and total assets of USD50.908m. The fixed income ETF was incorporated in the USA under the PIMCO fund family and with short government as its category. The fund tracked the performance of the Merril Lynch 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index and aimed to achieve returns consistent with the index. Eight kinds of United States Treasury Notes accounted for 39.52% of the fund’s holdings. The fund had a one-year return of 4.10% and a three-month return of 0.18%. Although the returns of this fund were not on the negative side like other funds on this list, it was still too small to keep it afloat coming into the new decade. In 2018, its last full year of operation, the fund only made 1.43% in returns. On its last month, its returns dipped even further to -0.02% sealing its fate for closure. |
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- Cushing Energy & MLP ETF (XLEY)
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ETF |
Cushing Energy & MLP ETF (XLEY) |
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Date Closed |
11/22/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD22.54m |
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Total Assets |
USD1.127m |
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This exchange-traded fund with the stock symbol XLEY was opened on December 4, 2018, under the Cushing ETFs fund family. On the date of closing, its net asset value was USD22.54m. It was incorporated in the USA and had the asset class focus of equity. Its investments were in large-cap energy companies that explored, produced, refined, marketed, or stored and transported oil, natural gas, coal, and consumable fuels and oil and natural gas equipment and services companies. The fund’s top 10 holdings each accounted for an average of 4.61% of the total assets; all together they made up 46.14% of the ETF’s total assets. These companies were Helmerich & Payne Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp, Schlumberger Ltd., Williams Companies Inc, Valero Energy Corp, ONEOK Inc, Exxon Mobil Corp, Kinder Morgan Inc Class P, and Apache Corp. The fund closed just a few days short of its one-year anniversary but the Equity Energy category, which the fund belonged to performed poorly with a one-year return of -2.23%. Equity energy has been showing extremely poor returns for the past years with returns of -2.23%, -13.55%, and -5.33% for its one-year, three-year, and five-year returns, respectively. The fund itself performed slightly better with its 1.51% for its one-month return and 3.14% three-month return. This slight bump in numbers, however, was of little significance when the fund category itself consistently had negative returns. |
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- Cushing Energy Supply Chain & MLP ETF (XLSY)
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ETF |
Cushing Energy Supply Chain & MLP ETF (XLSY) |
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Date Closed |
11/22/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD24.07m |
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Total Assets |
USD0.481m |
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This exchange-traded fund made its investments in large-cap energy companies involved oil, natural gas, coal, and combustible fuel business. It was started on December 4, 2018, under the Cushing ETFs fund family and the Equity Energy category. Upon liquidation, its net asset value was USD24.07m and totals assets were USD0.481m. The fund’s top holdings included Dow Inc, which made up 4.43% of its assets, LyondellBasell Industries NV making up 4.12%, and WestRock Co A making up 3.50% of its assets. In terms of returns, the fund had a measly 2.16% for its one-month return, and 6.06% for its three-month return. |
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- Cushing Transportation & MLP ETF (XLTY)
Date Closed: 11/22/2019
Net Asset Value: USD24.15m
Total Assets: USD0.483m
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ETF |
Cushing Transportation & MLP ETF (XLTY) |
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Date Closed |
11/22/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD24.15m |
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Total Assets |
USD0.483m |
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This exchange-traded fund was incorporated in the USA on December 4, 2018 under the Cushing ETFs fund family and the industrials category and tracked the performance of the Cushing Transportation Index. Upon liquidation, the fund had a net asset value of USD24.15m and total assets of USD0.483m. The fund’s top 10 holdings were Alaska Air Group Inc, Matson Inc, Ryder System Inc, Union Pacific Corp, Norfolk Southern Corp, United Parcel Service Inc Class B, Delta Air Lines Inc, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc, American Airlines Group Inc, and FedEx Corp. These companies made up 56.30% of the ETF’s total assets and each made up an average of 5.63%. The industrials category had a one-month return of -1.83% and a three-month return of -0.59% compared to XLTY’s one-month return of 0.62% and a three-month return of 2.04%. Although the fund itself performed better than the industrials category, a return that minuscule did not turn out to be worthwhile for its investors causing the ETF to close before it turned a year old. |
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- Cushing Utility & MLP ETF (XLUY)
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ETF |
Cushing Utility & MLP ETF (XLUY) |
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Date Closed |
11/22/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD25.96m |
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Total Assets |
USD1.038m |
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XLUY tracked the performance of companies in the S&P 500 Utilities Index and invested in large-cap utility companies. The equity ETF was launched on December 4, 2018, under the Cushing ETFs fund family and the Utilities category. Upon closing, it had a net asset value of USD25.96m and total assets of USD1.038m. The fund’s top 10 holdings are PPL Corp, Dominion Energy Inc, Southern Co, CenterPoint Energy Inc, Duke Energy Corp, The AES Corp, FirstEnergy Corp, Consolidated Edison Inc, Entergy Corp, and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc; these companies make up 37.14% of the company’s total assets. The fund’s one-month and three-month returns were unimpressive with -2.40% and -1.23%, respectively. Returns for the Utilities category also did poorly with a one-month return of 0.68% and a three-month return of -5.19%, making it a struggle for any fund under it to survive. |
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- InsightShares Patriotic Employers ETF (HONR)
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ETF |
InsightShares Patriotic Employers ETF (HONR) |
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Date Closed |
11/20/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD27.54m |
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Total Assets |
USD1.377m |
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This Equity ETF managed by Denise M Krisko tracked the performance of the Military Veteran Index. The fund was launched on January 19, 2018 under the InsightShares fund family and the large value category. When the fund was liquidated, it had a net asset value of USD27.54m and total assets of USD1.377m. The company’s top 10 holdings each make up less than 1.3% of the company’s assets, totaling only 12.11% of the company’s total assets. These are Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, JetBlue Airways Corp, Oshkosh Corp, Intel Corp, CarMax Inc, Cigna Corp, Agmen Inc, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. Although its one-year return of 16.98% wasn’t abysmal, there was a dramatic decline in returns in its last months. The fund’s three-month return was 2.35% and it was even lower for its one-month return, which was 1.91%. The large value category also reflects this change with its one-year return being 17.04% compared to its -0.10% one-month return. |
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- InsightShares LGBT Employment Equality ETF (PRID)
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ETF |
InsightShares LGBT Employment Equality ETF (PRID) |
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Date Closed |
11/20/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD27.37m |
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Total Assets |
USD2.737m |
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Denise M Krisko manages this equity ETF launched on January 11, 2018, under the InsightShares fund family and the large blend category. The sought to track the performance of the UBS LGBT Employment Equality Index. Among the fund’s top holdings were companies such as Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc A, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Alphabet Inc A, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart Inc, Procter & Gamble Co, and Visa Inc Class A. Although these are large, well-known companies, it only made up 29.19% of the fund’s total assets. On top of the list was Apple Inc, which only made up 5.83% of the company’s total assets. Upon liquidation, the ETF had a net asset value of USD27.37m and total assets of USD2.737m. As of its returns, the fund saw a one-year return of 16.61%, a three-month return of 2.12%, and a one-month return of 2.15%. |
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- GraniteShares S&P GSCI Commodity Broad Strategy No K-1 ETF (COMG)
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ETF |
GraniteShares S&P GSCI Commodity Broad Strategy No K-1 ETF (COMG) |
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Date Closed |
11/15/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD21.80m |
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Total Assets |
USD6.583m |
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This commodity ETF was incorporated in the USA and created on May 22, 2017, under the Graniteshares fund family and the commodities broad basket category. The fund tracked the performance of the S&P GSCI commodity Index TR. Its top one holding was the GaraniteShares Blmbrg CmdtyBrdStr NoK1ETF, which made up 14.49% of the company’s total assets. When the fund was liquidated, it had a net asset value of USD21.80m and total assets of USD6.583m. In terms of returns, the commodities broad basket category has been performing poorly for the last decade with a ten-year return of -7.74%. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that the fund got a one-year return of -10.46%, a three-month return of -2.29%, and a one-month return of 1.04%. In its last full year of operation, the ETF’s annual total return was -14.35%. |
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- X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF (DBKO)
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ETF |
X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF (DBKO) |
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Date Closed |
11/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD27.38m |
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Total Assets |
USD5.424m |
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Patrick Dwyer and Bryan Richards managed this fund launched on January 23, 2014, under the Xtrackers fund family and the Miscellaneous Region category. The fund tracked the performance of the MSCI Korea 25/50 US Dollar Hedge Index. Its top 10 holdings made up 50.65% of its total assets. These ten were Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, SK Hynix Inc, NAVER Corp, Amundi IS US Treasury 1-3 ETF -C USD, Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd, Hyundai Motor Co, Celltrion Inc, KB Financial Group Inc, Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd, and POSCO. Being one of the older funds on this list, one has more annual total return history to study. After its first full year in 2015, the fund did poorly with a -1.95% but that number rose to 9.33% in 2016 and then 27.95% in 2017. The returns dropped to a disappointing -16.16% in 2018 and the ETF didn’t even make it all the way through 2019 to 2020. |
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- X-trackers FTSE Emerging Comprehensive Factor ETF (DEMG)
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ETF |
X-trackers FTSE Emerging Comprehensive Factor ETF |
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Date Closed |
11/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD24.03m |
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Total Assets |
USD3.594m |
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This equity ETF was launched on April 19, 2016, under the Xtrackers fund family and the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Under the management of Bryan Richards and Patrick Dwyer, the sought to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Comprehensive Factor Index. Its top 10 Holdings only accounted for 7.71% of the total assets, the biggest being Petrobras Distribuidora SA, which was only 0.99%. The returns for the fund were less than exciting with a one-year return of 7.56%, a three-month return of 1.42% and a one-month return of 3.24%. The fund category, although higher, were also underwhelming with a one-year return of 15.54%, a three-month return of 7.04%, and a one-month return of 1.01%. In 2018, the fund’s last full trading year, it got a -15.11% return, making it clear why the ETF was liquidated. |
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- X-trackers Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor ETF (DESC)
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ETF |
X-trackers Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor ETF (DESC) |
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Date Closed |
11/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD34.79m |
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Total Assets |
USD10.431m |
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DESC is an equity ETF launched on June 28, 2016, under the DWS fund family. Bryan Richards and Patrick Dwyer managed the fund as it sought to track the performance of the Russell 2000 Comprehensive Factor Index. Its top 10 holdings only made up 3.73% of the fund’s total assets. The largest one was E-Mini Russ 2000 Dec19, which only made up 0.76%. |
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- X-trackers Barclays International Corporate Bond Hedged ETF (IFIX)
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ETF |
X-trackers Barclays International Corporate Bond Hedged ETF (IFIX) |
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Date Closed |
11/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD52.41m |
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Total Assets |
USD2.620m |
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IFIX is a fixed income ETF that launched on October 25, 2016, under the Xtrackers fund family. Bryan Richards and Alexander Bridgeforth managed the fund, which was liquidated with a net asset value of USD52.41m and totals assets of USD2.620m. Its top holdings included Allianz Finance II B.V. 3%, Credit Agricole S.A. London Branch 3.12%, Barclays Bank plc 6.62%, Orange S.A. 3.12%, AT&T Inc 2.75%, Banco Santander, S.A. 2.5%, Kraft Heinz Foods Company 2.25%, Apple Inc. 1%, UniCredit S.p.A. 3.25%, and Wesfarmers Ltd 1.25%. These ten companies made up 23.56% of the company’s total assets, none of them reaching 3%. The fund did poorly in terms of returns with its annual total return for 2017 being 3.89% and 0.82% for 2018. During its last year, it got a one-month return of 0.01% and a three-month return of 0.42%. |
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- Xtrackers Barclays International Treasury Bond Hedged ETF (IGVT)
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ETF |
Xtrackers Barclays International Treasury Bond Hedged ETF (IGVT) |
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Date Closed |
12/12/2019 |
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Net Asset Value |
USD51.91m |
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Total Assets |
-- |
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Bryan Richards and Alexander Bridgeforth managed this fixed income ETF under the Xtrackers fund family. It was created on October 25, 2016, and upon its liquidation, it had a net asset value of USD51.91m and total assets of USD5.188m. The fund’s top one holding is Xtrackers II Harvest China Govt Bd ETF1D, which only accounted for 4.52% of its total assets. As for the ETF’s returns, it performed poorly only making 1.71% in 2017 and 1.63% in 2018 for its annual return total. In 2019, the fund’s three-month return was 1.16% and its one-month return was -0.79%. |
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