It’s All about Active ETFs

Abstract

It looks like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are eating mutual funds’ lunch. Although we think this is more an index versus active story, it has not stopped mutual funds from looking to convert their active strategies into ETFs.

The active ETF space is already alive and well: Active strategies already exist in the form of transparent active and smart beta funds. Although assets in these funds remain small, they are on a growth path that is consistent with that of index funds. The arbitrage mechanism helps active and smart beta ETFs track their net asset values very well, which is good for investors. Nontransparent active ETFs would help larger, active managers hide their trades from predatory traders and might also lower transaction and holding costs to investors. To date, none has been approved because of concerns over their tradeability. We think that they would likely have wider spreads than current ETFs but would trade much better than closed-end funds (which also trade on exchange intraday).