Pass on this ETF: Defiance Next-Gen SPAC Derived ETF

Article Excerpt

DEFIANCE NEXT-GEN SPAC DERIVED ETF $25.84 (New York symbol SPAK) invests in special purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs) and companies spawned from SPACs. SPACs are companies with no commercial operations that are established solely to raise capital from investors to acquire operating businesses. This provides an alternative route for a company to go public, which can be cheaper and quicker. SPACs have grown in popularity—in 2020, U.S. SPACs raised $80 billion to spend on deals, exceeding the record $13.6 billion raised in 2019. This ETF launched in September 2020, currently holds $70 million of assets, and charges a management fee of 0.45%. The fund now has 137 holdings—a 60% weighting is applied to operating companies derived from SPACs and 40% is allocated to shares of newly listed SPACs. Current top holdings include DraftKings, Opendoor Technologies, Pershing Square Tontine, Virgin Galactic, and Clarivate. The 60% of holdings in operating companies converted from SPACs are risky enough, as they are in effect new issues with not much of a track record…