ROBO: The Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF has been around since 2013, and has accumulated more than $1 billion in assets.
MAGA: This ETF has a fantastic ticker -- clearly playing off of President Donald Trump's rallying cry of "Make America Great Again" -- but a questionable investment thesis. The firm selects the top 150 companies from the Standard & Poor's 500 Index whose employees and political action committees contribute to Republican electoral candidates. However, there is no explanation as to why this is a rational investment approach. Perhaps that, or the rather high management fees, is why MAGA has only attracted $33.9 million.
Note that similar funds -- the Republican Policies Fund (GOP) and the Democratic Policies Fund (DEMS) -- launched to almost no fanfare. They failed to attract many assets and both closed up last April.
But let's take this further, and offer up a few ideas for future ETF's and their ticker symbols:
BANK: Since the financial crisis, banks, brokers and asset managers have underperformed the broader market, despite being cheaper. Whether that is an opportunity or a warning sign is as yet unknown.
LGBT: Governance (the “G” in ESG) of companies with gay and lesbian friendly corporate policies.
HYPE: An ETF that will invest in companies that promote high-risk/potentially high-return investment ideas.
ELON: See HYPERICH: Invest in the companies led by billionaire chief executive officers or the shelters they use for tax avoidance.
TANK: A broad-based inverse ETF that does well when the market falls.
PORN: The industry has driven a huge number of online innovations, from streaming video to micro-payments. One single ticker allows investors to participate without having to clear their browsing history.