Emerging Global Advisors, the exchange trade funds issuer behind the EGShares family of ETFs, will be acquired by Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
In a statement released Wednesday, Columbia Threadneedle Investments announced an agreement for Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC to purchase New York-based Emerging Global Advisors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal is expected to be finalized later this year.
“With $892 million in assets, EGA has an established presence in the smart beta marketplace. It is the investment adviser to the EGShares suite of nine emerging markets equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track custom-designed indices,” according to the statement.
[related_stories]Well-known EGShares ETFs include the EGShares Emerging Markets Consumer ETF (NYSEArca: ECON), EGShares Beyond BRICs ETF (NYSEArca: BBRC), EGShares India Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca: SCIN) and the EGShares India Infrastructure Index Fund (NYSEArca: INXX).
“Since launching its first ETF in 2009, EGA has had a dedicated focus on providing rules-based, smart beta strategies designed to provide investors with diversification and growth opportunities in emerging markets,” according to the statement.
Columbia Threadneedle has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its own smart beta ETFs.
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