“The need to reduce portfolio volatility and access higher beta strategies are driving Smart Beta ETF Usage among institutional decision makers, while fee reduction and portfolio completion are more likely to drive usage of more traditional ETFs,” Tonny Ferreira, SVP, Sector Lead, Wealth Management Group at Market Strategies International, said in a recent webcast. [Institutional Investors, RIAs Warming Up to Smart-Beta ETFs]
Meanwhile, more asset managers are also dipping their toes into the actively managed ETF space, following the successful transition PIMCO made into the industry. More recently, Calamos Investments, the Chicago-based mutual fund issuer, is looking to build on its success in the mutual fund business with the introduction of the Calamos Focus Growth ETF (NASDAQ: CFGE). [Calamos Makes a Splash in Active Equity ETF Arena]
Additionally, the active space could also see another growth spurt if the SEC approves non-transparent active ETFs. Money managers like State Street (NYSE: STT), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV), T. Rowe Price (NasdaqGS: TROW) and Precidian Investments have pushed for non-transparent offerings to help protect trade executions on day-to-day active management in an ETF wrapper. [Waiting on the SEC to Approve Non-Transparent Active ETFs]
For more information on smart-beta ETFs, visit our indexing category.