This Week's ETF Launches: ProShares Bets Against Brick-And-Mortar Retail Again
If there’s one thing that most market watchers agree on, it’s that the brick-and-mortar retail business ain’t what it used to be.
As shoppers move online to buy everything from cars to toothbrushes, the traditional retail business model edges closer to extinction. ProShares has built what it calls its “retail disruption” suite of ETFs that are designed to profit from this change to the retail landscape. This week, it adds a third fund to that suite.
Here are this week’s new fund launches:
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Launch Date | ETFdb.com Category | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (OPER n/a) | ClearShares OPER ETF | 07/11/2018 | 0.30% | ||
| (ONLN n/a) | ProShares Online Retail ETF | 07/13/2018 | 0.58% | ||
| (QDIV n/a) | Global X S&P 500 Quality Dividend ETF | 07/13/2018 | 0.35% |
For a list of all new ETF launches, take a look at our ETF Launch Center.
ProShares Launches Online Retail ETF
ProShares already has the ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF (EMTY n/a) and the ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF (CLIX n/a) if you want to invest in the fall of traditional retail. Now, you can invest in the rise of the online channel with the ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN n/a).
As the name suggests, ONLN targets retailers that principally sell online. The fund is fairly concentrated holding just 22 positions, with Amazon (AMZN) and Alibaba (BABA) accounting for roughly 40% of the fund’s assets. The obvious comparison for ONLN is the Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY ). ProShares on the fund’s fact sheet says that ONLN is the “first ETF focused exclusively on retailers that principally sell online”. It makes this claim based on the fact that IBUY includes some travel services companies, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor, that ProShares does not consider pure retail. ONLN will also be undercutting IBUY on price. Its 0.58% expense slightly bests IBUY’s 0.65%.
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Global X Targets Quality and High Yield
Global X operates more than 50 different ETFs focused mainly on certain countries, themes or sectors. This week, the company moves outside of its traditional brand with the launch of the Global X S&P 500 Quality Dividend ETF (QDIV n/a).
Global X slots QDIV into its “SuperDividend” ETF category. It invests in U.S. equity securities included in the S&P 500 that rank within the top 200 of the index’s universe by both quality score and dividend yield. By requiring companies to be in the top 40% in both categories, the fund has narrowed the broader index down to 82 qualifying stocks that get equal-weighted and rebalanced on a semiannual basis.