Ameritrade to Launch New Lifecycle ETFs

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., an online Omaha, Neb.-based brokerage, is aiming to launch five lifecycle exchange-traded-funds to seek new sources of revenue, according to Dow Jones. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory document, New York fund firm XShares Advisors, a firm with a number of ETFs pending before the SEC, will serve as the new funds’ advisor, while TD Ameritrade and Bank of New York will be sub-advisors.   The effort is a joint venture. “It’s their product,” says Jeffrey Feldman, founder of XShares Group, the parent of XShares. “We are providing infrastructure and marketing capability.”  The ETFs will be called “Independence Shares” and are lifecycle funds, which adjust their holdings, based on an investor’s proximity to retirement or another target date. The ETFs will be a first for Ameritrade, but not the first time the company took advantage of the popularity of ETFs. In October 2004, the firm launched Amerivest, an online service that offers investors advice on which ETFs to buy for a flat annual fee of 0.35% to 0.8% of assets.  The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.