UniCredit has liquidated its two remaining ETFs as it bows out from the European market.
The Italian bank delisted the UC MSCI European Green Bond EUR UCITS ETF (ECBI) and the UC Refinitiv European Convertible Bond UCITS ETF (ECBD) from the Deutsche Boerse at the end of October due to low demand.
It follows the closure of the UC EURO iSTOXX ESG-X Multi Factor UCITS ETF (ECBF) and the UC EURO STOXX ESG-X Minimum Variance ETF (ECBV) in January 2021, just 18 months after they were launched.
The UC Axiom Global CoCo Bond UCITS ETF (CCNV) was also shut in June this year despite slashing its fees by 26 basis points to 0.39% two years prior.
“The reason for the liquidation is that the subscriptions into these sub-funds were very low and are expected to be very low in the future, it is therefore a challenge to manage the sub-fund in a cost-effective manner,” the firm told shareholders.
It added the cost of the liquidation will be “taken into account” as part of the redemption proceeds, which took place on 31 October.
UniCredit did not respond to a request for comment.
The firm’s departure leaves just one Italian issuer in the market after Fineco Asset Management launched an 11-strong range of ETFs in October. The group recorded $243m inflows in October.
The asset management arm of Fineco Bank said it will look to leverage its large Italian customer base to grow its ETF business.
Italy has become one of the fastest-growing ETF markets in Europe with issuers across the globe looking to take advantage.
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