ETRACS 2x Leveraged MSCI USA ESG Focus TR ETN (ESUS)

ESUS was an exchange-traded note issued by UBS AG under its ETRACS brand and listed on NYSE Arca. It launched in September 2021. As an ETN, it was an unsecured debt obligation of UBS rather than a fund holding stocks, and its value tracked a reference index while carrying UBS credit risk. ETRACS was UBS's line of exchange-traded notes covering leveraged equity, income and alternative strategies, and the bank periodically called notes that had gathered little investor interest.

The note offered two times leveraged exposure, reset monthly, to the total return of the MSCI USA ESG Focus Index, an index of large and mid-sized US companies chosen to maximize environmental, social and governance scores while staying close to the broad market's risk profile. Leverage meant the note's returns could differ substantially from twice the index over longer periods. The monthly reset meant the leverage ratio was restored at the start of each month, so returns over longer periods depended on the path of the index as well as its overall change.

Trading was thin through its life. On November 20, 2024, UBS announced it would call ESUS and six other ETRACS notes. The call valuation date was December 9, 2024, the last expected trading day was December 11, and the call settlement amount was paid in cash on December 12, 2024, after which the notes ceased to exist. The issuer's call right was part of the original terms, so holders received the formula-based settlement amount rather than a negotiated price.