New products introduced recently include a new managed futures ETF from First Trust, an MLP and energy infrastructure ETF from Global X, and a new limited-duration high income fund from Pacific Life.
In addition, DMS Funds introduced the DMS Poland Index Fund, and the Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I is becoming self-managed.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) First Trust Launches Managed-Futures Strategy Actively Managed ETF
First Trust Advisors announced the launch a new actively managed ETF on Aug. 2.
The First Trust Morningstar Managed Futures Strategy Fund (FMF) is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide investors with positive returns as its investment objective. The investment team has the flexibility to manage the contract selection to seek to exceed the performance of the fund's benchmark, the Morningstar Diversified Futures Index. The index currently contains 34 different futures positions consisting of 19 commodities, nine equity indexes and six currencies.
The fund provides exposure, through a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary, to commodities, currencies and equities through a long, short or flat futures strategy, and seeks to achieve positive returns that are not directly correlated to broad market equity or fixed income returns. John Gambla and Rob Guttschow serve as senior portfolio managers, and will primarily be responsible for daily investment decisions under the direction of an investment committee that includes six other individuals with extensive investment experience.
2) Global X Launches MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF
Global X Funds announced Wednesday that it had launched the Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (MLPX), whch seeks to provide results that track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index. The index is designed to be a MLP benchmark index for midstream energy infrastructure master limited partnerships (MLPs) and corporations, and consisted of 35 holdings as of Aug. 1. The fund expects to pay quarterly income distributions.
MLPX offers exposure to the Solactive MLP Composite Index, which is designed to give investors a means of tracking the overall performance of the U.S. MLP asset class. MLPA consists of 30 MLPs engaged in the transportation, storage, processing, refining, marketing, exploration, production and mining of natural resources. Due to its structure as a regulated investment company, MLPX is not subject to corporate taxes, yet still provides access to the MLP sector. It also requires only 1099 tax filings from investors, not K-1s. Its management fee is 0.45%.
3) Pacific Life Funds Launches PL Limited-Duration High Income Fund
Pacific Life Funds has launched the PL Limited Duration High Income Fund (PLLDX), which invests primarily in high-yield corporate bonds and floating-rate loans.
