Jefferies Asset Management will close down its TR/J CRB
Wildcatters Exploration & Production Equity ETF (NYSEArca:WCAT)
and liquidate the fund's assets on May 2, according to ETF Trends.
A representative from Jefferies confirmed the closure via phone,
citing "lack of interest." WCAT only managed to attract $9.5
million in assets in its two-year life, and its exit from the stage
leaves the Stamford, Conn. firm with only one ETF to offer
advisors.
WCAT, which comprised two-thirds of its holdings in natural gas
exploration companies, launched into an already-saturated
environment, competing with such powerhouses as the SPDR S&P
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSEArca:XOP) with
nearly $850 million in AUM, according to IndexUniverse data, or the
more-focused $338.4 million First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas ETF
(NYSEArca:FCG).
The fund's potential for success was premised on natural gas
prices rising, which, as anyone who has held UNG knows, hasn't
happened. IndexUniverse Global Head of Editorial Matt Hougan
predicted the WCAT could take a step back if commodity prices fell,
in a blog he wrote in January 2010 shortly after the fund
launched.
The death of WCAT follows similar fund closures from the firm.
The TR/J CRB Global Agricultural Equity ETF (NYSEArca:CRBA) had
only $8.58 million and the TR/J CRB Global Industrial Metals Equity
ETF (NYSEArca:CRBI) had only $3.18 million when they were shut down
in December 2011.
These closures have not come as a surprise. Along with their
paltry AUM and minimal trading volumes, CRBA and CRBI both scored
"high" in terms of closure risk in the ETF rating system developed
by IndexUniverse's Analytics team. WCAT scored "medium" in terms of
risk.
The demise of WCAT leaves Jefferies with just one fund left:the
Jefferies TR/J CRB Global Commodity Equity Index Fund
(NYSEArca:CRBQ), which has $88.9 million in assets as of April 18,
2012, according to IndexUniverse data.
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