FocusShares Bails Out of ETFs

One exchange-traded fund provider is calling it quits after deciding to pull the plug on its external PR efforts. FocusShares today said that the Board of Trustees of the FocusShares Trust will liquidate the FocusShares family of ETFs as of August 30.

The 15 funds, which launched last March, had approximately $100 million in aggregate assets as of July 31. The funds’ Board determined the inability of the funds to attract “significant market interest since their inception” as a major hurdle that it could not overcome and decided to liquidate the offerings and cut its losses. The firm’s decision to exit the ETF business follows a sudden cancellation of a media meet-and-greet last month by Erik Liik, chief executive of FocusShares, in New York City.

 The affected funds include:

• Focus Morningstar US Market Index ETF (FMU)

• Focus Morningstar Large Cap Index ETF (FLG)

• Focus Morningstar Mid Cap Index ETF (FMM)

• Focus Morningstar Small Cap Index ETF (FOS)

• Focus Morningstar Basic Materials Index ETF (FBM)

• Focus Morningstar Communication Services Index ETF (FCQ)

• Focus Morningstar Consumer Cyclical Index ETF (FCL)

• Focus Morningstar Consumer Defensive Index ETF (FCD)

• Focus Morningstar Energy Index ETF (FEG)

• Focus Morningstar Financial Services Index ETF (FFL)

• Focus Morningstar Health Care Index ETF (FHC)

• Focus Morningstar Industrials Index ETF (FIL)

• Focus Morningstar Real Estate Index ETF (FRL)

• Focus Morningstar Technology Index ETF (FTQ)

• Focus Morningstar Utilities Index ETF (FUI)