MacroMarkets LLC has been encountering some problems with its MacroShares exchange-traded products. The firm has a patented methodology for dueling exchange-traded trusts that shift assets (in the form of Treasuries) back and forth between each other according to the positive or negative movements of the underlying commodity price or index.

The flagship products—the Macro­Shares Oil Up trust and the MacroShares Oil Down trust—ran into trouble last year when the price of oil skyrocketed, sucking all the assets out of the “Down” fund and forcing the closure of both products.

MacroMarkets tried again a few months later with another set of oil-tracking products that had a little more flexibility—the MacroShares $100 Oil Up Trust (NYSE Arca: UOY) and the MacroShares $100 Oil Down Trust (NYSE Arca: DOY). However, those products never gained much popularity, and it was announced in mid-May that the firm was invoking a rule that allowed it to terminate the funds if one or both of them fell below $50 million in assets; UOY and DOY, which had about $20 million in combined assets at the time of the announcement, are set to stop trading on June 25.

Just days later, the firm announced that its unprecedented initial public offering for its pending products tracking the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Composite 10 Index had failed, and it would be using a traditional, market-maker-driven process to launch the Major Metro Housing Up (NYSE Arca: UMM) and the Major Metro Housing Down (DMM) trusts. Apparently, demand for the Up and Down funds from IPO bidders was too lopsided; additionally, investors seemed to be put off by the extra commission costs that came with purchasing a traditional IPO.

The home price trusts were expected to launch with $5 million in seed money from a market maker shortly after the failure of the IPO was announced.