ProShares Rounds Out Its E-Commerce ETF Suite

ProShares Rounds Out Its E-Commerce ETF Suite

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This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

ProShares added on to its suite of e-commerce-related ETFs with a new strategy that invests only in retailers principally selling online or through other non-store channels.

On Monday, ProShares rolled out the ProShares Online Retail ETF (NYSEArca:ONLN) , which has a 0.58% expense ratio.

"We just wanted to take care of unfinished business," Simeon Hyman, ProShares head of investment strategy, told ETF Trends in a call. "Launching the long-only strategy just made sense."

ProShares already offers the ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF (EMTY) and ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF (CLIX) , which both take a short position in brick-and-mortar retail stores to capitalize on weakness in traditional stores, whereas the new ONLN solely takes on a long position in online retailers.

"Online retail is only in the early innings. For example, compare Amazon versus Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has three times the sales of Amazon, they were the original retail disruptors," Hyman said.

Online Retail Growth Ahead

Looking ahead, analysts expect the growth of online retail to continue. About 10% of global retail sales are currently conducted online, which leaves an e-commerce-centric strategy further room for growth. Recent data also indicated that online sales growth could double by 2030.

“Retail shopping is increasingly moving away from bricks-and-mortar stores and going digital, and the companies driving sales in this rapidly growing marketplace present an opportunity for investors,” Michael L. Sapir, co-founder and CEO of ProShare Advisors, said in a note. “Rather than investing in an individual company, investors can now get exposure to Amazon, Alibaba and other global leaders in online retail with a single ticker: ONLN."

Related: ETFs to Capitalize on the Shift in Consumer Spending

The ProShares Online Retail ETF tries to reflect the performance of the ProShares Online Retail Index, which includes companies that principally sell online or through other non-store channels, such as mobile or app purchases, rather than through bricks-and-mortar store locations. Component holdings must be classified as an online retailer, an e-commerce retailer, or an internet or direct marketing retailer, according to standard industry classification systems.

The underlying index currently has 21 components, with top holdings including Amazon (AMZN) 24.2%, Alibaba Group (BABA) and Wayfair (NYSE: W) 4.8%. The U.S. makes up 75.5% of the index, followed by China 21.5% and Argentina 3.0%.

For more information on new fund products, visit our new ETFs category.