By Suzanne McGee
(Reuters) – Fidelity made waves in the financial market on Monday with the launch of six new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the announcement of significant reductions in management fees for nearly a third of its total ETF lineup. This move is expected to set the stage for a robust week in ETF debuts, according to analysts.
Since the beginning of the year, asset managers have introduced 419 ETFs, bringing 2023 closer to breaking the record set in 2021 of 475 new ETFs, as reported by Morningstar Direct.
The upcoming week is anticipated to witness the introduction of at least a dozen new investment products.
On the agenda are the releases of five actively-managed ETFs by Ark Invest and 21Shares AG, focused on bitcoin and ethereum futures, as well as blockchain technology. This move will expand Ark’s offerings from eight ETFs to a total of 15.
John Hooson, managing director of global ETF product at Brown Brothers Harriman, noted that launching multiple ETFs simultaneously has become a common strategy. “Sometimes, as with ARK, it’s a group of products targeting different slices of the same strategy or market segment,” he said.
Fidelity’s ETF conversions include funds that concentrate on large-cap growth, value and core portfolios, as well as mid-cap, small-cap, and international stocks.
The Fidelity products are offered with fees ranging from 18 basis points to 28 basis points, in comparison to an average fee of around 63 basis points for actively managed ETFs, according to Bryan Armour, mutual fund analyst at Morningstar.
“These are very, very substantial reductions, and the new fees are very low,” Armour noted.
(Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Deepa Babington)
