The acquisition of exchange traded fund (ETF) provider iShares and Barclays Global Investors by BlackRock last month wasn’t greeted by the same level of fanfare seen when the proposition was first introduced. Still, it’s an event worth taking notice of.
Many believed that BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) would expand on its actively managed and fixed income lineup following its acquisition of iShares, writes Helen Fowler for Index Universe. But right now, the focus seems to be more on continuity.
BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink has already stated that he had no plans to raise expense ratios on iShares funds. In fact, the economies of scale may even allow room for a reduction in fees. [BlackRock CEO’s plans.]
Rory Tobin, head of the international iShares business, says that there is actually “more interest among the ETF issuer community than our client base” for active ETFs. Tobin believes that more work will be done in developing products that will deliver on performance expectations before new active ETFs will come out. [More on the iShares/BlackRock deal.]