'Mad Money' ETF to close after attracting just $1.3M

An exchange-traded fund that aimed to track CNBC anchor Jim Cramer’s stock picks is planning to shutter just five months after launching.

The Long Cramer Tracker ETF (LJIM) will stop trading Sept. 11, according to a press release Monday. The fund, which buys stocks recommended by the host of CNBC’s "Mad Money" show, has only managed to attract $1.3 million in assets amid gains of just 2.2% since its debut in March.

Tuttle Capital Management chief executive Matt Tuttle launched LJIM alongside the $3.4 million Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF (SJIM), which bets against Cramer’s stock calls and will continue to trade. While LJIM has actually outperformed its bearish Cramer counterpart, Tuttle says he is shutting the fund after failing to attract the attention of the CNBC host. 

“We started LJIM in order to facilitate a conversation with Jim Cramer around his stock picks as the other side to the Short Cramer ETF,” Tuttle said in the press release. “Unfortunately, Mr. Cramer and CNBC have been unwilling to engage in dialogue and instead have chosen to ignore the funds, therefore there is no reason to keep the long side going. Going forward we will just focus on the short side.”

A CNBC spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite a slide in August, LJIM has gained about 2.2% on a total return basis since inception, with Nvidia Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Oracle Corp. among its biggest holdings. SJIM, which also short-sells Cramer’s picks in addition to buying companies he recommends against, has dropped 4.4% over that span. 

Tuttle told Bloomberg’s "Trillions" podcast in March that he and two colleagues monitor Cramer’s television appearances and social media accounts to put together the fund’s actively managed portfolios, which charge 1.2%. A CNBC spokesperson said at the time that Cramer encourages long-term investing through “a balanced portfolio that includes index funds and individual stocks.”

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Tuttle is behind some of the $7.4 trillion ETF industry’s more infamous products. In addition to the Cramer funds, he’s also behind the $240 million AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (SARK), which wagers against Cathie Wood’s flagship fund.