ETF launches fall to three, the fewest in eight weeks

Three ETFs launched in the week to Nov. 3, down from 10 the prior week and 50 in the week of Sep. 15, according to SEC EDGAR effectiveness filings and issuer fund records.

Three is the lowest weekly launch count of the eight weeks tracked, after 158 launches in the first four weeks and 86 in the last four. The last three weeks ran 29, 10 and 3.

Fund selectors cannot yet compare costs on the three new funds, because expense ratios were not available for any of them. All three went live on Oct. 28. ACJL, the Buffered Bulldog ETF by C.J. Lawrence, a division of Apollon, is a buffer and defined-outcome fund from Tidal Trust IV. ANGG and ANGV came from SEI Exchange Traded Funds.

Closures fell as well. Issuer records show 34 closures over the eight weeks, 29 of them in the week of Sep. 15, and none in any of the last five weeks.

Issuers filed 30 new-fund registrations (485APOS) in the week to Nov. 3, up from 17 the prior week, according to SEC EDGAR filings. That matches the eight-week average of about 30 a week, from 243 such filings in total. The form also covers amendments, so the 30 counts filings, not funds in the pipeline.

Total filings fell to 77 from 99 the prior week. They included 45 effective registrations (485BPOS), two new trust registrations (N-1A) and no listing-rule filings (19b-4). The new trusts were Gator Capital Investment Trust, which filed on Nov. 2, and TenGrove ETF Trust, which filed on Oct. 30. Defiance ETFs Trust I accounts for five of the 25 filings in the table below, all 485APOS filings dated Nov. 3.

EA Series Trust was the most active registrant over the eight weeks with 21 filings, followed by GraniteShares ETF Trust with 20. ETF Series Solutions, Themes ETF Trust, Tidal Trust II and Tidal Trust V each filed 13. Only the two Tidal trusts also rank among the eight issuers with the most launches, so the busiest filers were mostly not the busiest launchers in this period.

Tidal's five trusts launched 100 of the 244 ETFs that came to market between Sep. 9 and Nov. 3, or 41%, according to SEC EDGAR effectiveness filings and issuer fund records. Tidal Trust V led with 41, followed by Tidal Trust I with 20, Tidal Trust IV with 16, Tidal Trust II with 15 and Tidal Trust III with 8.

Tidal Trust V alone launched more funds than the next three issuers combined: Kurv ETF Trust with 16, Managed Portfolio Series with 14 and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV with 7. It launched nothing in the week to Nov. 3, and ACJL was the week's only Tidal launch.

Active funds made up 9.8% of launches over the eight weeks, with style classified from each fund's registered name by fixed published rules. By category, classified from fund names under the same rules, dividend and income led with 22 launches, ahead of international and emerging markets with 13 and sector and thematic with 12.