Index exchange traded fund giant Vanguard Group is broadening its scope as the money manager files with the Securities Exchange Commission to launch active ETF options.
According to a recent SEC exemptive relief filing, Vanguard is seeking to allow a group of its active funds to be permitted to issue ETF shares that will be actively managed as well.
“Applicants propose that the Funds be permitted to issue ETF Shares if so authorized by their respective boards of trustees,” according to the filing. “Each Fund will have distinct investment strategies that are different from those of the other Funds, and each Fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective by utilizing an ‘active’ management strategy.”
Vanguard has a patent that allows it to offer ETF share classes of its existing mutual funds.
The potential active open-end Funds that could offer ETF shares include:
- Vanguard Admiral Funds
- Vanguard California Tax-Free Funds
- Vanguard Charlotte Funds
- Vanguard Chester Funds
- Vanguard Convertible Securities Fund
- Vanguard Explorer Fund
- Vanguard Fenway Funds
- Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Funds
- Vanguard Horizon Funds
- Vanguard Malvern Funds
- Vanguard Massachusetts Tax-Exempt Funds
- Vanguard Money Market Reserves
- Vanguard Montgomery Funds
- Vanguard Morgan Growth Fund
- Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds
- Vanguard New Jersey Tax-Free Funds
- Vanguard New York Tax-Free Funds
- Vanguard Ohio Tax-Free Funds
- Vanguard Pennsylvania Tax-Free Funds
- Vanguard Quantitative Funds
- Vanguard Scottsdale Funds
- Vanguard Specialized Funds
- Vanguard STAR Funds
- Vanguard Tax-Managed Funds
- Vanguard Trustees’ Equity Fund
- Vanguard Valley Forge Funds
- Vanguard Variable Insurance Funds
- Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund
- Vanguard Wellington Fund
- Vanguard Whitehall Funds
- Vanguard Windsor Funds
- Vanguard World Fund
Vanguard joins a growing number of fund companies filing for actively managed ETFs, especially after the SEC helped streamline the listing process for active ETFs on the Bats Global Markets and New York Stock Exchange. The more unified regulatory process for filings could help pave the way for more active ETF filings down the line.