A new era of exchange traded funds (ETFs) is here: PowerShares got the go-ahead from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an actively managed fund.

Make that four of them. The anticipated names, according to PowerShares, are:

• PowerShares Active AlphaQ Fund: seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of 50 Nasdaq-listed securities. It’s designed to beat the Nasdaq 100 benchmark.

• PowerShares Active Alpha MultiCap Fund: Designed to achieve returns in excess of the S&P 500 with a portfolio of 50 securities.

• PowerShares Active Mega-Cap Fund: Seeks to primarily invest in mega-caps and outperform its benchmark, the Russell Top 200.

• PowerShares Active Low Duration Fund: Invests in a portfolio of U.S. government and corporate bonds, and seeks to outperform its benchmark, the Lehman Brothers 1-3 Year US Treasury Index.

The holdings of each fund will be disclosed daily on the PowerShares website. Transparency had been a key issue that held up the approval of actively managed funds.

Tags: Bond ETFs