The folks at a $10.4-billion-AUM fund firm near Chicago are preparing to shut down an adopted, cannabis-focused, active ETF before the fund's fourth birthday in a few months.

Christian William Magoon Amplify Investments LLC CEO

On Tuesday (January 7), the board of the Amplify ETF Trust approved a plan to shutter the Amplify U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF (MJUS on the NYSE Arca), following a recommendation to do so by Amplify Investments LLC [profile], and the Amplify team revealed the liquidation plan the next day (Wednesday, January 8). Lisle, Illinois-based Amplify serves as MJUS' investment advisor, while Massapequa, New York-based Toroso Investments, LLC (dba Tidal Investments [profile]) serves as subadvisor.

The Amplify team reveals that MJUS will close to new creation orders on January 20 and that it will cease trading a week later, on January 27. The planned liquidation date is January 30.

A spokesperson for Amplify declined to comment beyond referring inquiries to a company press release. That release offers no explanation for the planned liquidation.

As of yesterday (January 9), MJUS had $65.857 million in AUM. The actively managed ETF comes with an expense ratio of 75 basis points.

The PM team for MJUS includes Qiao Duan, portfolio manager at Tidal, and Charles Ragauss, head of trading at Tidal. The fund is designed to invest specifically in companies involved in the U.S. cannabis business.

MJUS launched on May 12, 2021 as the ETFMG U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF. Amplify adopted MJUS (and 13 other ETFMG ETFs) a year ago and rebranded it as the Amplify U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF while leaving the ticker intact.

As for MJUS' other service providers, they include: Chapman and Cutler LLP as counsel; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; ACA's Foreside Fund Services, LLC as distributor; U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services) as administrator, fund accounting agent, and transfer agent; and U.S. Bank, N.A. as custodian and securities lending agent.

MJUS also has a larger, older sibling: the nine-year-old, $154.327-million-AUM Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ, fka MJX and before that as LARE). Unlike with MJUS, Amplify has not filed to shut down MJ, and a spokesperson for Amplify declined to comment on the fund firm's plans for MJ. 

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