ETF Folly: The Death of the Airline ETF

Today’s news is the confirmation of the death and implosion of this ETF, as it has not traded since March 15. There are actually nine ETFs that Guggenheim is closing. The FAA investors are set to receive a distribution of $42.986572 per share.

One problem that this ETF had was that there are too few stocks of importance to offer real diversity. The top three holdings were Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL). These three stocks accounted for nearly half of the ETF, which is something that investors do not like to generally see.

Investors who want exposure to the airline sector now likely will have to focus on the iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSEMKT: IYT). The problem is that airlines are extremely under-represented in this ETF. The hope is going to have to be that airlines are somewhat tied to the transportation sector each day.

Another ETF death has come about, and today is the funeral for the Guggenheim Airline ETF. In pilot terminology, this would be called a high-speed flame out.