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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) evolved as cheap index trackers but some finance industry practitioners wonder if the next step is the development of active ETFs.
Active ETFs would in principle offer cheaper, more liquid access to active management investment strategies than mutual funds.
The prospect of such products has excited much interest recently because several firms have launched, or plan to launch, active ETFs in America.
The acquisition of Barclays Global Investors and its ETF unit iShares by active manager BlackRock earlier this year, has also triggered speculation that the combined firm could launch active ETFs.
Indeed, iShares has already asked the American authorities for permission to launch some active ETFs. But analysts point out that active ETFs face a...