ETFs

The fund will track the performance of companies that issue shares directed to either the investing public or the company’s founders and executives.

ETFs tracking themes — such as robotics, blockchain and cannabis — closed the year just 1% higher than where it started.

The firm commission-free platform already included all Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs as well as thousands of third-party funds.

Although passive has steadily lured cash from active, this year assets in indexed equity funds topped those in active stock funds for the first time ever.

Some 225 funds traded for the first time over the past 12 months, down for a second-straight year.

It’s easier — and more lucrative — for financial firms to pander to clients’ worst instincts than help subdue them.

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

A major driver of growth has been the “increased awareness” of advantages like tax efficiency, liquidity and transparency, according to Bank of America.

Competitors such as Merrill Edge have taken similar measures on commissions.

The four new types of funds use a so-called proxy basket and will publish some information about their portfolios every day.

The fund will track an index that divides the industry into five categories: pharmaceuticals, testing and analytics, cultivators, hemp and ancillary business.

Jeff Smith's dismissal was first announced in a memo by CEO Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito, who only said the executive had violated corporate policy.

"It's going to become increasingly more important for financial professionals to understand the potential benefits of sustainable investing," an exec says.

“It’s going to become increasingly more important for financial professionals to understand the potential benefits of sustainable investing,” an executive says.

Brokerage firms that sell the funds must determine whether clients understand their risks — a requirement that could discourage offering them at all.

Like other bank-owned asset managers, the division is under pressure from new regulations such as MIFID II and a protracted shift toward passive investing.

“There’s less performance chasing than you saw in the past, and that’s a positive thing,” an expert says.

The fund gained 22% last month, beating more than 1,970 rivals.

To stand out from the crowd, some issuers have embraced thematic strategies focused on niche investments that could become the next boom industry.

Fund industry Darwinism should be seen as healthy and natural in a thriving — albeit brutal — market, an expert says.