Circa5000 is set to exit the European ETF market a year after launching a suite of five thematic ETFs.
The group announced the closure of all five ETFs in a shareholder notice, citing low assets under management (AUM) across the range.
Combined, the ETFs had around £15m of assets:
CIRCA5000 Clean Water & Waste UCITS ETF (C5KW)
CIRCA5000 Green Energy & Technology UCITS ETF (C5KG)
CIRCA5000 Health & Wellbeing UCITS ETF (C5KH)
CIRCA5000 Social & Economic Empowerment UCITS ETF (C5KE)
CIRCA5000 Sustainable Food & Biodiversity UCITS ETF (C5KF)
Circa5000 came to market in June last year with investors able to buy the ETFs via its platform business.
The ETFs will close on 16 August. The firm said it would not comment on the closures.
Upon its launch, the group said it wanted to offer cost-effective impact investing with “active creation and passive implementation”.
It decided to build its own ICAV rather than launching via a white-label provider to ensure full control over its products.
However, shortly after launch Circa5000’s head of capital markets Magdelena Kowalik left the firm after seven months in the role.
The shut its platform business in February this year, transferring its client accounts across its ISA, JISA, GIA and pension holders to AJ Bell to focus on its ETFs.
The group had 160,000 registered customers in June 2023, according to its Crowdcube fundraiser. It raised £1m through the crowdfunding campaign which gave the platform a valuation of £15.7m.
At the time, Jane Mooney, user experience consultant at Circa5000, said the move would allow the firm to focus on the five ETFs in its product range.
The exit highlights how difficult it is for new players to enter the European ETF market.
ETF Stream research revealed just over half of UCITS ETFs are currently in profit-making territory, a figure that makes for stark reading for any advocate of the ETF wrapper.
