After departing the exchange traded funds business in 2002, Nuveen Investments has returned in quiet fashion.
The Chicago-based firm said Monday shareholders of the Nuveen Long/Short Commodity Total Return Fund (NYSEArca: CTF), have approved the plan to convert the fund into open-ended exchange-traded fund (ETF). The conversion plan is also contingent on customary regulatory approvals, according to a statement.
“The Annual Meeting of Shareholders for the Nuveen Diversified Commodity Fund (NYSE: CFD) has been adjourned to June 15, 2015, to allow additional solicitation of votes on the proposed plan to convert the fund into an ETF,” according to Nuveen.
Nuveen said in December it was planning to convert CTF and CFD into ETFs. CFD invests in an array of commodity futures and forward contracts. As of the end of November, the mutual fund allocated a combined 26.5% of its weight to oil and gold, according to issuer data. The fund’s annual expenses total 1.75%.
CTF holds a “portfolio of exchange-traded commodity futures contracts that are among the most actively traded futures contracts in global commodity markets,” according to Nuveen. CTF charges 1.61% per year. [Nuveen to Convert two Mutual Funds Into ETFs]
CFD and CTF “are currently structured as actively managed closed-end commodity pools. After the conversion, the funds will remain actively managed commodity pools, but they will adopt an open-end ETF structure,” said Nuveen in the statement. “The funds are not currently, and after the conversion will not be, mutual funds or any other type of investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940.”
In March, Nuveen filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining a broader return to the ETF business. [Nuveen Eyes ETF Comeback]
Nuveen has not been completely absent from the ETF business over the past 13 years. The firm partners with State Street’s (NYSE: STT) State Street Global Advisors unit on at least seven fixed income ETFs, including the SPDR Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEArca: HYMB), SPDR Nuveen Barclays Build America Bond ETF (NYSEArca: BABS) and the SPDR Nuveen Barclays Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEArca: TFI).
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.