Active Management Could Be Next 'Engine of Growth' for ETF Industry

In an extended bull market where it is becoming increasingly harder to pick out winners, exchange traded fund investors may consider actively managed strategies with a proven track record.

ETF Trends publisher Tom Lydon spoke with Dodd Kittsley, Director at Davis Advisors, at the 2017 Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago April 26-28 to talk active management in a predominantly passive, index-based ETF industry.

Many investors have been put off by active management that has acted like closeted indexers with high management fees or low performances. While there are some bad examples of poor actively managed funds, there are also those that have stood out in the industry.

“The firm’s been managing actively, fundamental, bottom-up since 1969 formally, and we believe we represent what the characteristics of good active are,” Kittsley said. “It’s being benchmark agnostic, high conviction, low turnover, strong co-investment and alignment with your investors.”