Active ETFs seem to be everywhere right now following a big boom over the last few years. While active ETF strategies have been available for many years, the so-called ETF rule in 2019 kickstarted ETF development. That said, even with active ETFs growing in popularity, many investors may still have questions not only about active ETFs, but also ETFs and active investing individually.
See more: Active ETFs Nearing 10% of Total ETF Market Share
To start, then, consider the ETF. ETFs of all kinds have exploded in popularity, but the average mutual fund investor may still not fully understand the wrapper. Investors can invest in a strategy in all kinds of formats, but in this case, funds often arrive in mutual fund or ETF flavor.
Active ETF vs. Mutual Fund Approaches
ETFs provide more transparent information than mutual funds do, reporting their moves each day. ETFs are also listed on exchanges and tradeable themselves. Perhaps most impactful is that ETFs provide fewer taxable events than mutual funds.
That owes to ETFs’ use of the “creation / redemption” model. Unique to ETFs, this process involves the ETF sponsor working with authorized participants, or APs, to craft shares out of stocks. The AP delivers underlying securities to the ETF sponsor, who provides the shares to the AP in turn to then be traded between buyers and sellers. As demand rises, more shares can also be provided, offering significant liquidity.
That also means that when someone sells their ETF share, it doesn’t create a taxable event. In a mutual fund, meanwhile, even if the investor doesn’t sell, but someone else does, if the fund realizes a gain, that can impact the investor’s taxes. ETFs avoid that thanks to the indirect nature of the creation / redemption process.
Add in an active approach, and suddenly ETFs can offer even more. An active ETF puts an active, week-to-week or even day-to-day level of investing flexibility into that ETF vehicle. Active management can then combine the ETF’s tax advantages with the adaptability of active to find strong opportunities in positive conditions and avoid volatility amid uncertainty.
T. Rowe Price offers a variety of active ETF options. For example, investors can consider strategies like the T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Equity ETF (TCAF ). TCAF charges 31 basis points (bps) for its approach, with the strategy nearing $1.5 billion in AUM having launched just eleven months ago. With active ETFs arriving all the time, investors can continue to learn more on sites like T. Rowe Price’s.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit our Active ETF Channel.
