Are ETFs Cheaper? By Scot Blythe

  As ETF assets grow, there is pressure to reinvent the wheel. It’s natural because many investors don’t want just beta. They may want dividends; they may want low volatility; they may want enhanced indexing. There is, for example, now a covered-call ETF on BRIC countries. But these add-ons come at a cost. And that cost means that ETFs are not necessarily cheaper than mutual funds—at least in the U.S. …

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Will This Be the Year of the Actively Managed ETF? By Rosalyn Retkwa

Managers are gearing up for new fund launches but demand remains uncertain and front-running fears are still an issue. Jack Brennan, chairman emeritus of The Vanguard Group, known for its low-cost index funds, recently echoed a common sentiment when he described actively managed ETFs as an oxymoron. “One of the reasons you index is to take manager risk out of the equation. To put manager risk back into the equation …

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Active vs. Passive Debate Spills Into ETFs By Tom Lydon

Actively Managed ETFs News: The debate over active management versus passive management remains, but in the end does it really matter? Both styles compliment exchange traded fund investing and when used together — they can both enhance a portfolio. “While some trace their history to as early as 2000, most were launched in just the last five years. Looking at the market size, the Morningstar managed ETF database puts total …

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Time To Buy an Active ETF? Stock Pickers Doing Well in 2013 By Brendan Conway

We often note the paucity of actively managed exchange-traded funds — often enough, apparently, that BlackRock’s (BLK) Larry Fink cited a line from a recent column on the company’s earnings call pooh-poohing their progress last year: “Actively managed ETFs may be the biggest story that never quite happened in 2012.” And yet the small number of actively managed ETF are doing remarkably well. At least, several are starting off 2013 …

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Growth Spurt: Active ETFs on the way to $500 billion By Jason Kephart

McKinsey says name brands will drive big growth over next seven years Actively managed exchange-traded funds have yet to take off with investors — with one big exception — but over the next several years, experts expect them to grow faster than their passive brethren.   Pooneh Baghai, co-leader of the Americas wealth management, asset management and retirement practice at McKinsey & Co., predicts that assets in actively managed exchange-traded …

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Active ETfF Sector is Gaining Traction By Tom Lydon

The actively managed exchange traded fund category appears to be gaining momentum with the recent success of the PIMCO Total  Return ETF.  There has been a slew of active ETFs recently launched, which has led many to wonder how active management is defined with an ETF. “The active ETF universe is ‘heterogeneous,’” Robert Goldsborough of Morningstar said, though heavily skewed toward fixed income. “There are a lot of unique strategies, but …

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Low-Volatility ETF Demand Fueled by Desire for Safety by Tom Lydon

Despite the diminished volatility in the equities markets and the growing complacency in the current rally, wary investors have sought out alternative investment strategies, like low-volatility exchange traded funds, to hedge potential risks. With the Knight algorithm induced flash crash, looming Eurozone crisis and presidential elections weighing on the minds of investors, many are keeping cautious with their investments, writes Dave Goodboy, V.P. of marketing for intrendX LLC, for Street …

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ETF Growth: Will It Hit A Wall By Brendan Conway

Bernstein Research poses the question this morning. Yes, the firm argues, exchange-traded funds’ growth could slow considerably. It could happen without a break into 401(k) plans and without substantial new growth outside ETFs’ home base in passive investing. Bernstein’s Luke Montgomery, Brad Hintz and Gabriel Farajollah are specifically challenging the view that active management and fixed income can drive the industry’s asset levels as high as hoped. They’re taking on the …

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Advisors call for rethink of absolute return definitions By Chris Salih

11 June 2012 8:00 am Advisers have called for a simplified definition for the absolute return sector after the Investment Management Association published three potential proposals for an overhaul of its current structure. The trade body is considering redefining and dividing the sector to group the funds alongside traditional asset-based sectors. One option being explored is to sub-divide the existing absolute return sector, indicating which funds are targeting more stable …

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Active Vs. Passive investing: Which is right for your charity? The content of this article is provided by Octopus Investments, provider of the CAF Managed Portfolio Service.

Active and passive investments each have benefits, but when put together they could provide long-term, consistent returns Active vs passive investments – which should come first in your charity investment portfolio? Photograph: Gk Hart/vikki Hart/Getty Images The big debate within the investment community shows no sign of abating: which is better, active or passive investments? The argument is clouded by vested interests. We believe, however, that it’s a valuable debate …

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