VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF (CIZ)

The VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF was a fund that invested in large companies in developed markets outside the United States. Rather than weighting stocks by market value, it weighted them by volatility, giving bigger positions to steadier stocks and smaller positions to more volatile ones. The strategy also allowed the fund to move part of its portfolio into cash when markets fell sharply.

The fund launched on October 1, 2014 as part of the Victory CEMP family of volatility-weighted ETFs, later renamed VictoryShares. It tracked a Nasdaq Victory index built from roughly 500 of the largest developed-market companies outside the U.S., screened for profitability. Its holdings were spread across Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and other developed countries.

The ETF stayed relatively small and its expense ratio was higher than many plain international index funds. Investors interested in international stocks largely chose cheaper market-cap-weighted funds or the major low-volatility ETFs, leaving this fund with limited assets and trading volume.

On August 30, 2024 Victory Capital announced that it would close three ETFs, including this one. Shares stopped trading at the end of October 22, 2024, and the fund was liquidated on or about October 28, 2024, with shareholders receiving cash equal to net asset value. Similar international exposure is available through broad developed-markets ETFs.