BlackRock Blocks New Cash From MSCI Russia ETF After Plunge

(Bloomberg) — BlackRock Inc. is suspending the creation of new shares in an exchange-traded fund tracking Russian stocks, effectively stopping inflows to the product as Wall Street grapples with the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

The creation of shares — the process by which new cash enters an ETF — in the $105 million iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ticker ERUS) will be “temporarily suspended” until further notice, BlackRock said in a press statement on Tuesday. Buying and selling of shares will still be available on the secondary market, it said.

Related: As Russian Market Goes Dark, U.S. ETFs Lay Bare Extent of Damage

“It’s essentially a closed-end fund now,” said Athanasios Psarofagis, a Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst. “The silver lining is that it’s still trading so clients could still get money out, but at a more uncertain price.”

BlackRock’s move comes as money managers of all stripes race to get to grips with the blizzard of sanctions placed on Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Moscow stock exchange was closed for a second day on Tuesday as Russia reels from the measures, with some saying the country has become “uninvestable.” Foreign-listed shares of Russian companies have plunged.

ERUS has dropped over 50% in the past week.

In its statement BlackRock said the liquidity of Russian securities and the nation’s currency had “experienced significant declines” following the sanctions, subsequent market closures and Russia’s own capital controls. The firm cautioned that ERUS may no longer meet its investment objectives and may experience tracking error and significant distortions in its valution compared to its assets.

Late on Monday another issuer, Direxion Shares ETF Trust, announced it was closing the only leveraged Russia ETF, the Direxion Daily Russia Bull 2X Shares ETF (RUSL). That decision followed the suspension of share creations last week.

Read more: Leveraged Russia Fund Down 50% in a Week Is Liquidated Amid Rout

ERUS, which had assets of as much as $566 million in the middle of February, tracks the MSCI Russia 25/50 Index. MSCI Inc. has said it is closely monitoring accessibility and investability of Russian equities and is seeking feedback from market participants on the appropriate treatment of the market. A possible decision to reclassify its Russia indexes could result in billions of dollars flowing out of the nation’s stock market.

“I don’t think a full-out closure is completely off the table if MSCI decides to reject all Russian securities eventually,” Psarofagis at BI said of ERUS.

Read more: Russian Markets Are Becoming Uninvestable as Sanctions Bite