US-based Guggenheim Investments has announced that it will close and liquidate eight niche exchange-traded products (ETPs) in order to focus resources on products that have demonstrated the most marketplace demand.
Among the closures is the Guggenheim Ocean Tomo Patent ETF, a specialist patent-focused equity fund, whose largest holding is Microsoft (6.33%).
According to a statement released by the company, the Boards of Trustees of the Claymore ETF Trusts and the Rydex ETF Trust have approved the closing and subsequent liquidations of six exchange-traded funds. Additionally, Rydex Specialized Products announced plans to close and liquidate two of the CurrencyShares Trusts that it sponsors.
These eight offerings account for approximately $105 million in assets, or less than 1% of Guggenheim Investments’ total $11.9 billion in exchange-traded assets.
Among the closures is the Guggenheim Ocean Tomo Patent ETF, a specialist equity fund that utilises a proprietary selection model to track stocks with the greatest patent portfolio values. The fund has a heavy tech bias, with Microsoft making up 6.33% of the portfolio. Despite the recent interest in patents, the ETF has accumulated assets of little more than $4m.
Friday, 23 March, 2012 will be the last day of trading on the NYSE for shares of the following ETPs:
CurrencyShares Russian Ruble Trust (FXRU)
CurrencyShares Mexican Peso Trust (FXM)
Guggenheim EW Euro-Pacific LDRs ETF (EEN)
Guggenheim International Small Cap LDRs ETF (XGC)
Guggenheim Ocean Tomo Growth Index ETF (OTR)
Guggenheim Ocean Tomo Patent ETF (OTP)
Guggenheim Sector Rotation ETF (XRO)
Rydex MSCI All Country World Equal Weight ETF (EWAC)
“Guggenheim Investments remains committed to the US ETP business,” said William Belden, head of product development. “As a leader in the market, we are dedicated to providing high quality investment solutions for our clients.” he said.
Guggenheim Investments is the eighth largest US ETP provider with more than $11 billion in exchange-traded assets, and following the liquidations, will continue to offer a diverse ETP line-up of 72 products.