XShares to revamp HealthShares ETFs

Fifteen HealthShares Inc. exchange traded funds will close as part of a reorganization of the 19 HealthShares ETFs advised by XShares Advisors LLC of New York. The redesigned HealthShares suite of ETFs will include four of the current HealthShares ETFs — each of which is expected to carry a significantly lower expense ratio — and the expected introduction of new HealthShares ETFs in the coming months. Changes in the composition of the HealthShares indexes will result in the remaining HealthShares ETFs’ holding a greater number of constituent companies and generally higher minimum-capitalization requirements. “Health care and life sciences remain the most exciting sectors for investment in the global economy,” Joseph L. Schocken, chairman and interim chief executive of XShares Group Inc., parent company of XShares Advisors, said in a statement. “We believe that significant, untapped demand exists for specialized health care investment vehicles that focus on the innovation taking place outside the sector’s large-cap and mega-cap companies.”