BlackRock to Shutter Russia ETF That Once Held $800 Million
- ERUS is first major Russia ETF in the US set to terminate
- Liquidation expected to take until at least end of 2023
Saint Basil's Cathedral at Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
BlackRock Inc. will begin a long process of shuttering a major Russia exchange-traded fund, after the protracted Ukraine war has slashed the value of securities linked to the region and left their fate in limbo.
The iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ticker ERUS) will begin closing on Aug. 17 and proceeds from the few assets that can be liquidated will be distributed to shareholders, BlackRock announced in a press release on Wednesday. Most of the fund’s holdings currently can’t be sold due to sanctions or trading halts, so BlackRock expects the entire liquidation of the fund to take “an extended period of time.”