BNY Mellon Investment Management plans to liquidate three ETFs focused on sustainable investing, according to a Jan. 16 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The board of trustees of the BNY Mellon ETF Trust has approved the closing and liquidation of the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, the BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and the BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, the filing said.
Each ETF will create and redeem creation units through the close of business on Feb. 14, which will also be the last trading day for each fund's shares on the NYSE Arca exchange, the filing said. Each fund is expected to complete the liquidation of its assets, cease operations and distribute proceeds to shareholders of record "on or about" Feb. 21, the filing said.
The funds are actively managed and subadvised by Newton Investment Management, one of BNY Mellon IM's seven investment firms, according to BNY Mellon IM's website. The inception date for all three funds was Dec. 14, 2021, the site shows.
The largest of the three ETFs as of Jan. 16 was the $9.65 million BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, according to the website.
"The fund looks to achieve long-term capital appreciation, and invests primarily in the stocks of U.S. companies that utilize sustainable business practices — based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters," according to a fund fact sheet.
BNY Mellon IM continuously reviews its product lineup to "ensure alignment with client needs and preferences," a BNY Mellon IM spokesperson said in an email.
"Since we launched the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, the BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF, and the BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, investor behavior has shifted, leading to our decision to close these products," the spokesperson said. "We are focused on continuing to build momentum in our ETF offering which has grown to over $5 billion in assets as of the end of 2023 and currently offer a range of Active and Index ETFs for our clients."
ETFGI, a research and consultancy firm, reported in a December 2023 news release that assets invested in ESG ETFs listed globally increased 22.3% in the first 11 months of last year. ESG ETFs listed globally had assets totaling $480.96 billion at the end of November 2023, up from $393.11 billion at the end of 2022, the release said.
BNY Mellon IM, a unit of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., had $2 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, the spokesperson said.
