UBS to Close Three Small ESG and Commodity ETFs

UBS Asset Management will close three ETFs over profitability and scalability concerns, with trading set to end on October 19. The closures affect the $2.1m UBS MSCI Pacific ex Japan IMI Socially Responsible UCITS ETF (PEX), $7.7m UBS S&P 500 Climate Transition ESG UCITS ETF (CT5G), and $1.8m UBS CMCI Future Commodity SF UCITS ETF (CDTR). PEX and CT5G provide ESG-focused equity exposure to Pacific ex-Japan markets and the S&P 500, respectively, while CDTR tracks commodities using ecological and social criteria. The closures come despite ESG equities recently increasing their share of overall equity ETF flows, highlighting the difficulty smaller sustainability-focused products can face in achieving commercial scale.