Megaphone icon ETF Database is now VettaFi. Read More >
ETFdb Logo
ETFdb Logo
  • ETF Database
  • Channels
    • Active ETF
    • Alternatives
    • Beyond Basic Beta
    • China Insights
    • Climate Insights
    • Commodities
    • Core Strategies
    • Crypto
    • Disruptive Technology
    • Dividend
    • Dual Impact
    • Emerging Markets
    • Energy Infrastructure
    • Entrepreneur ETF
    • Equity ETF
    • ESG
    • ETF Building Blocks
    • ETF Education
    • ETF Strategist
    • Fixed Income
    • Future ETFs
    • Gold & Silver Investing
    • Innovative ETFs
    • Institutional Income Strategies
    • Leveraged & Inverse
    • Managed Futures
    • Modern Alpha
    • Multi-Asset
    • Multi-Factor
    • Nasdaq Investment Intelligence
    • Portfolio Strategies
    • Retirement Income
    • Smart Beta
    • Thematic Investing
    • Volatility Resource
  • Tools
    • ETF Screener
    • ETF Country Exposure Tool
    • ETF Sector Tracker Tool
    • ETF Database Categories
    • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison Tool
    • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
    • ETF Issuer Fund Flows
    • Indexes
    • Mutual Fund To ETF Converter
    • ETF Data for Journalists
    • ETF Nerds
  • Research
    • First Bitcoin ETF
    • ETF Education
    • Equity Investing
    • Dividend ETFs
    • Leveraged ETFs
    • Inverse ETFs
    • Top ETF Sectors
    • Top ETF Issuers
    • Top ETF Industries
  • Webcasts
  • Themes
    • AI ETFs
    • Blockchain ETFs
    • See all Thematic Investing ETF themes
    • ESG Investing
    • Marijuana ETFs
  • Videos & Podcasts
    • ETF 360 Video Series
    • ETF Trends on Videos
    • ETF Trends on Podcasts
    • ETF Prime Podcast
  • PRO
    • Pro Content
    • Pro Tools
    • Advanced
    • FAQ
    • Pricing
    • Free Sign Up
    • Login
  1. This Week’s ETF Launches: Actively-Managed ETFs Reclaim Spotlight
News
Share

This Week's ETF Launches: Actively-Managed ETFs Reclaim Spotlight

David DierkingAug 30, 2017
2017-08-30

Most of the focus in the ETF industry goes to passively-managed index funds since they attract the lion’s share of new investor money.

This week, actively-managed ETFs take center stage with three new offerings, including two from first-time ETF provider Spinnaker Trust.

Here are this week’s new fund launches:

TickerNameIssuerLaunch DateETFdb.com CategoryExpense Ratio
(FMDG)Fieldstone Merlin Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETFSpinnaker Trust08/21/2017Large Cap Growth Equities0.80%
(FFIU)Fieldstone/UVA Unconstrained Medium-Term Fixed Income ETFSpinnaker Trust08/21/2017Corporate Bonds0.50%
(FPEI)First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETFFirst Trust08/23/2017Preferred Stock/Convertible Bonds0.85%


Content continues below advertisement

For a list of all new ETF launches, take a look at our ETF Launch Center.

Spinnaker Debuts with Equity and Fixed-Income Offerings

At a time when investors are pouring billions of dollars into passively-managed index funds, first-time ETF provider Spinnaker Trust enters the marketplace with two new actively-managed offerings: Fieldstone Merlin Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF (FMDG) and Fieldstone/UVA Unconstrained Medium-Term Fixed Income ETF (FFIU).

The large-cap growth ETF is managed by Merlin Asset Management, which will select the 25 names that it feels present the most attractive opportunities regardless of sector or industry. The selection process takes a 3-5 year forward look and attempts to identify companies with high levels of profitability, strong and sustainable earnings growth, high-quality earnings and attractive valuations. The portfolio will be equal-weighted and charge an expense ratio of 0.80%. Currently, the fund’s largest-sector exposures include technology (38%), consumer cyclical (20%) and healthcare (17%).

The medium-term fixed-income ETF is sub-advised by Universal Value Investors. As its name suggests, the fund can invest in virtually any fixed-income security so long as the managers keep the overall portfolio duration in the general range of 4-7 years. According to its prospectus, the portfolio is expected to include mostly corporate bonds rated BB and higher, but it can also invest up to 20% of funds without constraint. That means it could have a significant chunk of assets dedicated to junk, unrated or subprime bonds, making it a riskier proposition for income seekers. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.50%.

ETFdb.com has ETF Investing Guides and other e-books to help you navigate the investing landscape using ETFs. Sign up to ETFdb.com Pro to get access to all the PDFs located on our ETF Guides page.

First Trust Launches Follow-up to 5-Star Preferred ETF

First Trust already manages one of the more popular preferred ETFs in the marketplace, the First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPE C+). Over its four-year history, it has netted more than $2.6 billion in total assets and ranks among the best in the preferred category. First Trust looks to build off of that fund’s success with the launch of the First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPEI).

This fund is unique in that it is an actively-managed fund focused solely on the institutional preferred market, an area that is typically inaccessible to retail investors. Because they are targeted to large investors and are normally sold only in large blocks, they can often provide better relative value to securities sold mainly to smaller retail investors. The fund’s focus on primarily variable rate securities could be particularly attractive to folks looking for some protection from rising interest rates.

Of course, one of the main attractions of preferreds is their yields, with many producing annual dividends of 5% or more. The Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF charges a 0.85% annual expense ratio.

For a list of all First Trust ETFs, click here.

Amplify ETF Takes a Strategic Left Turn

The Amplify YieldShares Prime 5 Dividend ETF (PFV) was a good idea in theory. Its goal was to create a fund-of-funds by targeting the five highest-rated dividend ETFs that demonstrated a combination of high dividend income, low volatility and low expenses. The main problem is that the fund took five relatively cheap ETFs and charged a whopping 0.49% expense ratio just for putting them together. The fund never got any attention, amassing only $1.4 million in assets, which has prompted Amplify to pursue a new strategy with the fund.

As of August 29, the Prime 5 Dividend ETF became the Amplify YieldShares Senior Loan and Income ETF and trades under the ticker YESR (YESR). Instead of dividend ETFs, the new fund will go after closed-end funds that invest in floating-rate senior loans and other floating-rate instruments. The floating-rate nature of the underlying securities generally makes them quite conservative in nature, although closed-end funds have been known to trade at significant premiums or discounts to their underlying net asset values. The new Amplify ETF maintains the fund-of-funds structures but targets a different universe.

The Bottom Line

It’s unusual to see an ETF make such a significant change of strategic direction as the Amplify ETF has done. Many of the newer fund launches fail to gain any significant traction in the marketplace, forcing the issuers to either change direction or close up shop. The change could give it a boost, but the fund is facing a very uncertain future.

Actively-managed funds have gotten a bit of renewed interest lately as some analysts have begun to question if the massive shift to index funds is such a good thing. First Trust has a strong track record with similar products and Spinnaker brings two solid strategies to the table, but actively-managed funds still have a steep hill to climb.

For more ETF news and analysis, subscribe to our free newsletter.

» Popular Pages

  • Tickers
  • Articles

Jun 24

As Inflation Rises, Try Equal Weighting Equity Holdings

Jun 24

Cybersecurity Investments Could be an Opportunity

Jun 24

Diversifying During Rate Hikes With a Real Estate ETF

Jun 24

Don't Ever Bet Against the S&P 500

Jun 24

Have We Reached Rock Bottom?

Jun 24

Coinbase Poised to Launch Derivatives Product

Jun 24

Any Time is the Right Time to Begin Investing

Jun 24

American Century’s Sandra Testani

Jun 24

Exxon Demands Higher Carbon Tax: This Fund Benefits

Jun 24

Gender Matters When it Comes to Retirement Planning

QQQ

Invesco QQQ Trust

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

ARKK

ARK Innovation ETF

VTI

Vanguard Total Stock Market...

XLE

Energy Select Sector SPDR...

VYM

Vanguard High Dividend Yield...

IVV

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

SCHD

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF...

XLK

Technology Select Sector SPDR...


Content continues below advertisement

Loading Articles...
Help & Info
  • Contact Us
  • Mission Statement
  • Press
Tools
  • ETF Screener
  • ETF Analyzer
  • Mutual Fund to ETF Converter
  • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison
  • ETF Country Exposure Tool
  • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
  • ETF Performance Visualizer
  • ETF Database Model Portfolios
  • ETF Database Realtime Ratings
  • ETF Database Pro
More Tools
  • ETF Launch Center
  • Financial Advisor & RIA Center
  • ETF Database RSS Feed
Explore ETFs
  • ETF News
  • ETF Picks of the Month
  • ETF Category Reports
  • Premium Articles
  • Alphabetical Listing of ETFs
  • Best ETFs
  • Browse ETFs by ETF Database Category
  • Browse ETFs by Index
  • Browse ETFs by Issuer
  • Compare ETFs
Legal
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  • © ETF Flows LLC
Follow ETF Database
Follow ETF Database

Advertisement

Is Your Portfolio Positioned With Enough Global Exposure?

ETF Education Channel

How to Allocate Commodities in Portfolios

Tom LydonApr 26, 2022
2022-04-26

A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...

Core Strategies Channel

Why ETFs Experience Limit Up/Down Protections

Karrie GordonMay 13, 2022
2022-05-13

In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...

}
X