Another month has come and gone, and with it came a new crop of ETFs. The flexibility and tax efficiency of the wrapper, as well as the ease of use for asset managers, has helped the ETF ecosystem blossom and the strategies available evolve. October included funds with tight, thematic perspectives but also continued emphasis on active management.
Key Takeaways:
- October's suite of ETF launches included multiple active and thematic ETFs.
- Funds like PEPT offer exposure to biotech advances, competing in the growing thematic ETF space.
- OAKL and ACIV, meanwhile, add to the accelerating active ETF ecosystem.
For example, one of the largest new launches by AUM, the Oakmark U.S. Concentrated ETF (OAKL), has an appeal. The fund sits at $334 million in AUM per ETF Database data and has picked up $32.5 million in the last month as well. OAKL comes from Natixis Investment Managers-affiliated shop Harris Investors, under which Oakmark operates.
OAKL offers a large-cap value ETF with an active approach. It emphasizes quality firms priced at a discount to the value its managers see. OAKL charges a 59 basis point (bps) fee for its approach.
Turning to the thematic ETF space, October also saw the launch of the REX Peptide ETF (PEPT). This fund charges a 65 bps fee to track the VettaFi Peptide Index. Its index provides a market-cap-weighted approach to firms heavily engaged in the peptide manufacture and development process.
Specifically, the ETF targets companies involved in peptide-based products in supplements, cosmetics, and medicine. Peptides play a big role in health and skincare applications, with South Korea a key market therein. Members of the index are placed into either core or diversified tranches.
Finally, October’s exciting launches included an active ETF from The Hartford. The company launched the Hartford Alpha Capture International Value ETF (ACIV) in the middle of the month. The strategy actively invests in international value stocks. The fund combines the insight of multiple fundamental equity teams. It charges a 56 bps fee and could help diversify away from U.S. concentration risk.
See more: What the Holidays Hold for GLP-1 Stocks in THNR
Looking ahead, with another month gone by, investors’ ETF menu has grown. Whether OAKL, PEPT, and ACIV make it to investors’ portfolios is one question, but each has a use case that could intrigue, from active to thematic ETFs.
VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for PEPT, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, PEPT is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of PEPT.
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