The number of exchange-traded products (ETPs) on ETF Deathwatch crept back into triple-digits this month. For March, the quantity is 104 (71 ETFs and 33 ETNs), up from the 99 for February.
Only four funds were launched last August. Since they surpassed six-months of age during February, they are no longer excluded from consideration. Three of them are doing quite well, but the Global X Nordic 30 ETF (GXF) is on this month’s list at #99. I for one would like to see this product succeed as it provides unique foreign market access. GXF is still relatively young and therefore has plenty of potential to escape the list in coming months.
The top of this month’s list is headed up E-TRACS CMCI Short Platinum Excess Return ETN (PTD). Trading was especially pitiful with only 400 shares changing hands on a single day of trading back on February 4. PTD is the only inverse platinum product on the market, so it can’t be blamed on competition.
ELEMENTS Ben Graham Large Cap Value ETN (BVL), one of our regulars, managed to trade on six days during February, an improvement from its five days of January trading. Most investors are not familiar with the ELEMENTS brand. ELEMENTS are more or less owned by Merrill Lynch, but Merrill does not issue them. In the case of BVL and a few others, they are unsecured notes issued by Deutsche Bank. Other ELEMENTS notes are issued by Credit Suisse, HSBC, or Swedish Export Credit Corporation. The ETNs are then distributed by Nuveen and Merrill Lynch.
Merrill Lynch’s ETF products aren’t doing much better than their ETNs. Merrill Lynch HOLDRS have been around for years, but their fixed structure is now antiquated. Six of the HOLDRS are on ETF Deathwatch this month, and there are now better “true ETF” alternatives for all HOLDRS.
Don’t forget that WisdomTree will close 10 funds this month with the last day of trading being March 24. Sell your shares before the liquidation process begins and use a limit order. Listed below are the 104 products on ETF Deathwatch for March that failed to generate at least $100,000 in average daily value traded (ADVT) during the past month.
ETF DEATHWATCH – MARCH 2010
| Rank | Ticker | Name | Age (mths) | Avg Daily Volume | Avg Daily Value Traded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PTD | E-TRACS CMCI Short Platinum Exc Ret ETN | 22 | 21 | $672 |
| 2 | BVL | Elements Ben Graham Large Cap Value ETN | 19 | 358 | $3,499 |
| 3 | EEH | Elements Spec LgCap US Sector Mo ETN | 31 | 832 | $6,649 |
| 4 | TZD | iShares S&P; Target Date 2010 Index Fund | 16 | 268 | $7,614 |
| 5 | FUE | Elements MLCX Biofuels ETN | 25 | 989 | $8,014 |
| 6 | GBB | iPath GBP/USD Exchange Rate ETN | 34 | 195 | $8,201 |
| 7 | BHH | HOLDRS B2B Internet ETF | 122 | 21,874 | $9,144 |
| 8 | PQSC | PowerShares FTSE Nasdaq Small Cap | 23 | 442 | $9,679 |
| 9 | UBC | E-TRACS CMCI Livestock Total Return ETN | 23 | 537 | $9,791 |
| 10 | PNXQ | PowerShares Nasdaq Next Q | 23 | 421 | $9,853 |
| 11 | EKH | HOLDRS Europe 2001 | 111 | 205 | $12,044 |
| 12 | PBTQ | PowerShares Global Biotech Portfolio | 18 | 511 | $12,309 |
| 13 | PMA | PowerShares Active Mega-Cap Portfolio | 23 | 621 | $13,851 |
| 14 | UBN | E-TRACS CMCI Energy Total Return ETN | 23 | 947 | $14,068 |
| 15 | BVT | Elements Ben Graham Total Mkt Value ETN | 19 | 1,432 | $14,759 |
| 16 | AGA | PowerShares DB Agriculture Dbl Short ETN | 23 | 411 | $15,675 |
| 17 | TZO | iShares S&P; Target Date 2035 Index Fund | 16 | 595 | $17,109 |
| 18 | WMH | HOLDRS Wireless | 114 | 405 | $17,596 |
| 19 | GWO | Elements CS Global Warming ETN | 23 | 2,726 | $18,031 |
| 20 | ADZ | PowerShares DB Agriculture Short ETN | 23 | 563 | $18,541 |
| 21 | GVT | Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value | 10 | 637 | $19,278 |
| 22 | TZI | iShares S&P; Target Date 2025 Index Fund | 16 | 684 | $19,929 |
| 23 | MKH | HOLDRS Merrill Lynch Market 2000+ | 116 | 447 | $21,162 |
| 24 | INR | Market Vectors Indian Rupee/USD ETN | 24 | 558 | $21,308 |
| 25 | GRN | iPath Global Carbon ETN | 20 | 921 | $21,940 |
| 26 | EEN | Claymore/BNY Mellon EW Euro-Pacific LDRs | 37 | 1,305 | $22,525 |
| 27 | TZL | iShares S&P; Target Date 2030 Index Fund | 16 | 811 | $23,691 |
| 28 | PQZ | PowerShares Active Alpha Multi-Cap | 23 | 1,447 | $23,881 |
| 29 | UBG | E-TRACS CMCI Gold Total Return ETN | 23 | 795 | $23,899 |
| 30 | EXB | Claymore/Beacon Global Exch, Brkrs, & Asst Mgrs | 33 | 1,979 | $24,638 |
| 31 | TZE | iShares S&P; Target Date 2015 Index Fund | 16 | 863 | $24,840 |
| 32 | AYT | Barclays GEMS Asia 8 ETN | 18 | 553 | $25,782 |
| 33 | IPS | SPDR S&P; International Consumer Staples | 19 | 953 | $26,122 |
| 34 | FAD | First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX | 34 | 1,205 | $28,196 |
| 35 | STH | Claymore/Sabrient Stealth | 42 | 1,889 | $28,330 |
| 36 | UAG | E-TRACS CMCI Agriculture TR ETN | 23 | 1,384 | $28,560 |
| 37 | IIH | HOLDRS Internet Infrastructure | 122 | 10,774 | $28,589 |
| 38 | UBM | E-TRACS CMCI Industrial Metals TR ETN | 23 | 1,489 | $29,584 |
| 39 | PGD | Barclays Asian&Gulf; Currency Reval. ETN | 21 | 605 | $29,878 |
| 40 | CZA | Claymore/Zacks Mid-Cap Core ETF | 35 | 1,324 | $30,312 |
| 41 | JVS | Javelin DJ Islamic Market International | 8 | 658 | $30,495 |
| 42 | ULQ | Claymore U.S. Cap Mkts Micro-Trm Fxd Inc | 25 | 614 | $30,630 |
| 43 | AGF | PowerShares DB Agriculture Long ETN | 23 | 1,921 | $32,059 |
| 44 | IFNA | iShares FTSE NAREIT North America | 28 | 1,047 | $32,713 |
| 45 | TWQ | ProShares UltraShort Russell3000 | 8 | 1,316 | $34,446 |
| 46 | FDD | First Trust DJ STOXX European Select Dividend | 30 | 2,853 | $36,929 |
| 47 | PTRP | PowerShares Glb Progressive Transport. | 18 | 1,442 | $37,158 |
| 48 | FUD | E-TRACS CMCI Food Total Return ETN | 23 | 1,821 | $37,401 |
| 49 | JEM | Barclays GEMS Currency Index ETN | 25 | 853 | $37,594 |
| 50 | USV | E-TRACS CMCI Silver Total Return ETN | 23 | 1,742 | $38,741 |
| 51 | IFEU | iShares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Europe | 28 | 1,400 | $38,772 |
| 52 | TZG | iShares S&P; Target Date 2020 Index Fund | 16 | 1,342 | $38,999 |
| 53 | IRY | SPDR S&P; International Health Care | 19 | 1,384 | $39,832 |
| 54 | DPU | PowerShares DB Commodity Long ETN | 22 | 2,763 | $41,809 |
| 55 | BSC | Elements Ben Graham Small Cap Value ETN | 19 | 3,942 | $41,900 |
| 56 | ROI | WisdomTree LargeCap Growth | 15 | 1,289 | $41,954 |
| 57 | ERO | iPath EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN | 34 | 795 | $42,494 |
| 58 | TZV | iShares S&P; Target Date 2040 Index Fund | 16 | 1,511 | $44,261 |
| 59 | JYF | WisdomTree Dreyfus Japan Yen | 22 | 1,542 | $44,771 |
| 60 | RHO | Rydex Inverse 2x S&P; Health Care | 21 | 1,431 | $46,520 |
| 61 | URR | Market Vectors Double Long Euro ETN | 22 | 1,632 | $49,741 |
| 62 | BDG | PowerShares DB Base Metals Lng ETN | 21 | 2,374 | $51,355 |
| 63 | JPP | SPDR Russell/Nomura PRIME Japan | 40 | 1,384 | $51,524 |
| 64 | PIC | PowerShares Dynamic Insurance | 53 | 4,016 | $55,074 |
| 65 | DEF | Claymore/Sabrient Defender | 39 | 2,668 | $55,191 |
| 66 | JYN | iPath JPY/USD Exchange Rate ETN | 34 | 858 | $56,244 |
| 67 | PTO | PowerShares Auto Growth NFA | 22 | 5,416 | $57,222 |
| 68 | RTW | Rydex Inverse 2x S&P; Technology | 21 | 2,921 | $58,763 |
| 69 | RHS | Rydex S&P; Equal Weight Cons Staples | 40 | 1,179 | $59,957 |
| 70 | DOD | Elements Dogs of the Dow Total Return ETN | 28 | 8,963 | $62,077 |
| 71 | INY | SPDR Barclays New York Muni Bond | 29 | 2,774 | $62,495 |
| 72 | OTP | Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent | 39 | 3,032 | $67,189 |
| 73 | PCA | PowerShares Auto Balanced NFA | 22 | 5,779 | $67,326 |
| 74 | UBD | Claymore U.S. Capital Markets Bond ETF | 25 | 1,374 | $67,563 |
| 75 | UCI | E-TRACS CMCI Total Return ETN | 23 | 3,921 | $74,682 |
| 76 | PSTL | PowerShares Global Steel Portfolio | 17 | 3,563 | $74,778 |
| 77 | TDD | TDX Independence 2010 | 29 | 3,305 | $75,598 |
| 78 | XGC | Claymore/BNY Mellon Intl Small Cap LDRs | 35 | 4,093 | $77,461 |
| 79 | PFI | PowerShares Dynamic Financials | 41 | 4,726 | $77,837 |
| 80 | SZR | WisdomTree Dreyfus S. African Rand | 20 | 2,921 | $79,210 |
| 81 | ROB | Claymore/Robb Report Global Luxury | 31 | 4,758 | $79,325 |
| 82 | FPX | First Trust US IPO Index Fund | 47 | 4,084 | $80,013 |
| 83 | GCE | Claymore CEF Index GS Connect ETN | 27 | 5,100 | $80,139 |
| 84 | JJS | iPath DJ-UBS Softs ETN | 20 | 1,642 | $81,403 |
| 85 | XRU | CurrencyShares Russian Ruble Shares | 16 | 2,537 | $82,884 |
| 86 | TDX | TDX Independence In-Target | 29 | 3,332 | $83,055 |
| 87 | CRO | Claymore/Zacks Country Rotation | 32 | 5,484 | $84,192 |
| 88 | RYU | Rydex S&P; Equal Weight Utilities | 40 | 1,926 | $84,769 |
| 89 | PTJ | PowerShares Dynamic Healthcare Services | 41 | 4,311 | $86,781 |
| 90 | RGI | Rydex S&P; Equal Weight Industrials | 40 | 2,079 | $89,585 |
| 91 | REC | Rydex Inverse 2x S&P; Energy | 21 | 16,168 | $90,180 |
| 92 | PAO | PowerShares Auto Balanced Growth NFA | 22 | 8,237 | $90,582 |
| 93 | UWC | ProShares Ultra Russell3000 | 8 | 1,637 | $90,779 |
| 94 | TDV | TDX Independence 2040 | 29 | 5,223 | $91,454 |
| 95 | IPW | SPDR S&P; International Energy | 19 | 3,689 | $91,890 |
| 96 | GULF | WisdomTree Middle East Dividend | 20 | 6,300 | $91,938 |
| 97 | BWV | iPath CBOE S&P; 500 BuyWrite Index ETN | 34 | 2,089 | $92,287 |
| 98 | IPD | SPDR S&P; International Consumer Discr | 19 | 3,979 | $92,979 |
| 99 | GXF | Global X FTSE Nordic 30 ETF | 6 | 5,853 | $93,407 |
| 100 | QABA | First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank | 8 | 4,074 | $94,564 |
| 101 | IPU | SPDR S&P; International Utilities | 19 | 4,458 | $95,404 |
| 102 | EFO | ProShares Ultra MSCI EAFE | 9 | 1,379 | $95,445 |
| 103 | BDH | HOLDRS Broadband ETF | 121 | 8,674 | $96,335 |
| 104 | TDN | TDX Independence 2030 | 29 | 5,472 | $98,385 |
Past issues of ETF Deathwatch are available here.
Disclosure covering writer, editor, and publisher: No positions in any of the securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned. No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.