Advisors Asset Management to Distribute WisdomTree ETFs

By John Sullivan

September 08, 2010 at 08:00 PM

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Advisors Asset Management, Inc. announced Wednesday, September 8, it would market and distribute WisdomTree exchange-traded funds in the independent broker-dealer channel.

WisdomTree is an ETF sponsor and asset manager using a fundamentally weighted index methodology. The company manages approximately $7.7 billion in assets.

While the current agreement calls for AAM to distribute WisdomTree products in the independent broker-dealer channel only, it's a relationship Andrew S. Williams, president of AAM, hopes to eventually expand.

"We are hoping, and this is our plan, that through our performance we will eventually represent WisdomTree in the independent RIA space and even in the major wirehouses," Williams says.

The addition of WisdomTree to AAM's roster of strategic partners is the latest alliance forged with large, reputable asset managers, which Williams says enables AAM to present independent advisors with a broader array of products that will best with their clients' investment objectives.

"We call it consultative selling," he explains. "Tell me what you want to accomplish and we'll research and offer the right solution. People think ETFs are all the same, but it's an opportunity for us to educate ourselves about client needs and then address those needs with quality companies like WisdomTree. And [WisdomTree senior investment strategy adviser] Jeremy Siegel's involvement is a major differentiator in how they operate and their investment strategy."

Established in 1979, AAM has 10 offices across the country and partners with both independent and large Wall Street firms.

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