New Actively Traded ETF Being Offered

The Grail American Beacon Large Cap ETF is now being offered to the public. While this would normally not be a big deal, this ETF is unique in that it is being billed as the first actively managed ETF (see WSJ article). There have been other active ETFs that diverged from a specific index, but the stocks choices for the fund were generated by computer models, as opposed to having a manager pick the stocks. In the tradition of lower fees for ETF, fees will be 0.79%, lower than a mutual fund, but still higher than a typical straight index fund ETF. Like other ETFs, the funds holdings will be made public daily, similar to mutual funds. Whether the ETF will be successful will depend on whether the company can avoid front-running of large public positions, and whether or not investors, who are already skittish and getting conservative, will be willing to invest with a product and a manager with an unknown track record. If history is any indication, the outlook is not good, especially given the timing.