Keeping it active

Active is king in ETFs at the moment. Our features this week bring you a new issuer, Arch Indices, which has built its first offering around a dynamic portfolio construction which is designed to maximise income and minimise volatility.

The Arch Indices VOI Absolute Income ETF (VWI) is the brainchild of co-founders Yang Tang and Dr Jinghua Kuang, who have 40 years of combined experience in fixed income and derivatives. Initially the pair considered ETFs to be passive products but now Tang says: "There are now many more ideas in the ETF wrapper."

Also keeping it active, is Jennifer Grancio, formerly CEO of start-up ETF issuer Engine No.1, which has been acquired by TCW, a global asset manager with USD210 billion under management. Grancio is now TCW’s Global Head of Wealth, overseeing global wealth distribution, and will lead TCW’s ETF business, and direct TCW’s brand and digital marketing strategy.

"When we launch it will be active, that’s the opportunity from TCW. We are looking at total return core bond products as well as their capabilities in investment grade CLO," Grancio says.

We are working on the Special Report from last week’s US ETF Awards and the dominance of active ETFs is a theme that keeps coming up in interviews with the winners both from the service provider side and the issuers. The report should be published next week.

Beverly Chandler, Managing Editor

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