JPMorgan Rolls Out New Active ETFs : Portfolio Products

A JPMorgan Chase sign on a building in New York. (Photo: AP)

JPMorgan Asset Management has introduced two actively-managed transparent equity exchange-traded funds: the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI, with a net expense ratio of 0.35%) and JPMorgan International Growth ETF (JIG, 0.55%).

Both new ETFs are trading on the NYSE Arca.

JEPI “targets a significant portion of S&P 500 returns with less volatility, seeking annualized income distributed monthly,” the firm said.

The fund “leverages an experienced equity management team comprising more than 50 years of combined experience” and led by 32-year industry veteran Hamilton Reiner as lead portfolio manager, based in New York, it said.

JIG, meanwhile, “seeks high quality growth opportunities for U.S. investors looking for broad, diversified access and exposure to the international equity market through an ETF,” the company said.

The fund is managed by an experienced J.P. Morgan team, with 21-year veteran Shane Duffy serving as lead portfolio manager, based in London.

State Street Shutting Two ETFs

State Street Global Advisors plans to close and liquidate the SPDR S&P Technology Hardware ETF (XTH) and SPDR S&P 500 Buyback ETF (SPYB), which trade on the NYSE Arca with a 0.35% net expense ratio.

State Street’s asset management division made the decision “based on an ongoing review of the SPDR ETF offering,” it said, but didn’t specify the exact reason in the announcement.

However, a company spokeswoman on Friday told ThinkAdvisor: “The decision to close the funds was made based on clients’ feedback and limited market demand after we did a review of the SPDR ETF offering.” She added: “We’re always reevaluating the  offerings.”

The final day for creations in each fund will be May 29. Trading of all shares will be suspended on the NYSE Arca at the open of market on June 1, and proceeds of the liquidation are scheduled to be sent to shareholders on or about June 8, State Street said.

Schwab Portfolio Connect Update

The Schwab Advisor Portfolio Connect management tool surpassed 1,000 independent advisor firm users, Schwab said Thursday, noting it plans to roll out more flexible user permissions later this year, allowing firms to grant user-level access to select client accounts while restricting others.

The free tool was launched in April 2019 and was seeing “great adoption,” Bernie Clark, executive vice president of Schwab Advisor Services, told ThinkAdvisor early this year, noting it was approaching the 1,000 user market at the time.

Adoption to date has been by small to midsize firms (with an average firm asset, or AUM, level of $40 million) looking for an intuitive approach to portfolio management that includes performance, billing and reporting, for free, the firm said.

Schwab also continues to enhance Portfolio Connect to increase its appeal to larger firms, it said.

The company recently introduced several new and enhanced features to Portfolio Connect, including:

1. Batch onboarding that lets advisors set up payment and reporting schedules for multiple client groups or households in a single step, automating an otherwise laborious process, freeing up time and reducing errors.
2. Data export that allows advisors to download data from the portfolio management system to perform custom calculations and simplifies integration with third-party applications.
3. Management View that provides advisors with an aggregate view of the firm’s assets under management, including projected revenue, performance and transactions, Schwab said.

ESG Metrics Made Public by MSCI

MSCI announced the public availability of its ESG Fund Rating, provided by MSCI ESG Research. MSCI Limited, meanwhile, made public ESG metrics for all of its indexes covered by the European Union Benchmark Regulation.

The MSCI ESG Fund Ratings are part of a wider environmental, social and governance transparency initiative by the firm to provide consistent and comparable ESG metrics at the company, fund and index level.

The ratings are available for 36,000 multi-asset class mutual funds and ETFs, the firm said.