RE: etf lifeAs long as the ETF is actively traded I believe that their life is equal to the life of the stocks it holds. In other words forever! Funds like those managed by Horizon are actively traded and widely held so I am sure that they will be around for some time.
ETF's like mutual funds have closed down due to lack of interest and those remaining investors are paid out the n.a.v. of the fund. However it seems best to sell your shares before waiting for a n.a.v. payout.
Here are some interesting experiences:
With so many new investments, there are bound to be some losers. Over the past 3 years, 150 ETFs have folded.
"How to spot a doomed ETF."
Though there is no way to divine which ETFs won't make the cut in the long run, there may be a couple of red flags.
Funds headed for trouble tend to have a similar profile. An ETFthat has been around for about 28 months and has less than $10 millionin assets should raise a red flag for advisers.
About three to four weeks ahead of the closing, investors arenotified that the ETF will stop trading. Shareholders can sell theirholdings up to the date of the closing.
Selling before liquidation may be the right thing to do; it can takesix to 10 days for investors to get their money after liquidation. one caveat about selling shares prior to liquidation: "you mayhave to deal with a pretty wide bid/ask spread and decide whether youwant to take what's offered," If no one wants to buy what you're selling, you may have less to loseby waiting for the fund to be dismantled. But that's not without riskseither.
"Your ETF is closing. Nowwhat?" detailed one pitfall of sticking with your ETF to the bitter endwhen the securities underlying the fund are sold.