The actively managed exchange traded funds space is experiencing a flurry of activity as prominent money managers move in.
Recently, Fidelity, John Hancock and PIMCO received regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch actively managed ETFs, reports Mariana Lemann for Ignites.
“We continue to evaluate the product needs of our clients and it would be premature to discuss our plans at this time,” spokesman James Aber said in the article. “Any active ETFs we decide to launch will complement our existing core mutual fund offerings and provide our clients with additional choices to help them meet their financial goals.
“The investment objective of the initial fund will be to seek a balance between a high level of current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on growth of capital,” according to the John Hancock filing.
PIMCO is planning on launching three active ETFs based on the firm’s mutual fund offerings. [PIMCO Readies Three More Bond ETFs]
Last week, BlackRock’s iShares came out with its first two active ETFs. Moreover, the fund provider has filed to launch international versions of its “Enhanced” active ETF series. [iShares Enters the Actively Managed ETF Arena]
Nevertheless, active funds still have a tough road ahead as the active strategies are still a relatively new concept in the ETF world. There are only 56 active ETFs with around $12.6 billion in assets under management, compared to the over 1,400 passive ETFs with $1.46 trillion on the market.
“You are going to see increased product development,” Alec Papazian, associate director at Cerulli Associates, said in the article. “Assets will continue to grow, but they will represent a small proportion of the market.”
For more information on active ETFs, visit our actively managed ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.