Active management

The move expands the manager’s commission-free platform, which has included all mutual funds since 1977 and all ETFs since 2010.

Macro funds, which invest in broad global trends, had the biggest disparity.

To grow, firms need to be as engaged in the marketing and sales side of their business as they are in the investment side.

Once a top-performing fund with assets well over double today’s value, Templeton’s flagship bond fund has been diminished by the march of passive investments.

The 82-year-old company’s strategy has helped secure net inflows in all but one of the five years through 2018.

Funds that track custom-built indexes often seek exposure to securities based on factors like ESG and strategies that would typically be actively managed.

Asset managers who flocked to safety in utilities and dividend stocks at the end of 2018 have seen their pain compounded by the latest risk-on rally.

Among the honors this year by NICSA are awards for operational excellence, and advances in product development and technology.

A patented structure allows ETFs to report once a quarter in an effort to protect their intellectual property.

Under the proposed structure, the funds will conceal a portion of their assets and instead publish a list of securities that’s highly correlated to the performance of the portfolio.