ProShares S&P 500 Bond ETF (SPXB) seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of the S&P 500/MarketAxess Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index; the index consists exclusively of investment-grade corporate bonds issued by S&P 500 companies or their subsidiaries, selecting and weighting up to 1,000 of the most liquid bonds based on trading volume, with criteria including U.S. dollar denomination, minimum issuance maturity of 2.5 years, remaining maturity of at least one year, and minimum par amount of $750 million. The ETF provides exposure to a diversified portfolio of approximately 232-238 issues from 121 issuers across sectors such as industrial services (31%), industrial manufacturing (25%), finance banks (12%), and telecommunications utilities (10%), with a weighted average maturity of 12.4 years, effective duration of 7.67 years, and 30-day SEC yield of around 4.96% as of late 2023. Launched on May 1, 2018, and listed on NYSE Arca, SPXB was managed by ProShares Advisors LLC, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and targeted institutional and retail investors seeking high-quality, liquid U.S. corporate bond exposure tied to the iconic S&P 500 equity benchmark.
In a significant operational change, ProShares announced in April 2024 the liquidation of SPXB, with trading ceasing on April 23, 2024, and final distributions of approximately $73.03 per share completed around May 3, 2024, marking the ETF's closure after six years of operation. This decision followed periods of low assets under management, reported at $11.51 million as of December 2023, amid broader fixed-income market dynamics and no recent partnerships, acquisitions, funding rounds, or new product launches associated with the fund. The liquidation represented a strategic contraction in ProShares' ETF lineup, with no subsequent relaunches or reorganizations noted for this product.