Firms Getting Closer to Actively Managed ETFs

Talk of actively managed exchange-traded funds has existed for years, but now one company, ETFs LLC, actually has an application for one pending at the Securities and Exchange Commission, TheStreet.com reports. And the American Stock Exchange is working on creating one.

Were active ETFs to come to the market, Eaton Vance might begin offering ETFs, said Thomas Faust, Jr., president and chief investment officer of the firm. “We certainly watch the ETF space with interest. I think if there are actively managed ETFs, we would want to be involved,” he said.

Gary Gastineau, co-founder of Managed ETFs, believes that if such products were allowed, many investment firms would rush to move into the space. Ronald DeLegge, publisher of ETFguide.com, agrees: “It will turn the world upside down. It’ll get not just the ETF industry’s attention but [it will get] the active management industry interested in jumping on the ETF bandwagon.”