The small actively managed exchange traded fund space is seeing renewed activity as heavyweight mutual fund providers and more passive fund sponsors take an interest in actively managed ETF strategies.
With big names like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price going to the Securities and Exchange Commission to get active exemptive relief, we may finally witness greater growth in the active ETF space, writes Rosalyn Retkwa for Institutional Investor. [Active vs. Passive Debate Spills Into ETFs]
“The index licensing grab has largely played out,” Luke Montgomery, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said in the article. “Many ETF providers view active ETFs as an important new frontier for industry growth.”
There are over 1,445 U.S.-listed ETFs and only 58, or 4%, are active ETFs. Collectively, U.S.-listed active ETFs hold less than 1% of the industry’s assets, or $12.6 billion out of $1.46 trillion.
Last April, State Street Global Advisors launched its first three active ETFs, and the fund sponsor filed for six more on December 27, 2012.
“We see a strong future for active ETFs,” Jim Ross, senior managing director at State Street and head of asset managers’ ETFs, said in the article.