Goldman Launches Its First Active ETF: Portfolio Products

Betterment Begins Integrating Engine No. 1 VOTE ETF on Its Platforms

Betterment has begun integrating the new Transform 500 ETF (VOTE) into the socially responsible investing portfolios on all its platforms — for do-it-yourself retail investors, financial advisors and retirement accounts.

The ETF, which has a 0.05% net expense ratio and invests in the 500 of the largest U.S. companies included in the Morningstar Large Cap Select Index, is focused on shareholder engagement through proxy voting. It intends to run a handful of proxy voting campaigns focused on improving companies' environmental and social practices — a strategy Engine No. 1 successfully spearheaded with ExxonMobil, ultimately replacing three new board members with support from BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street and others.

The VOTE ETF will be included in Betterment's Broad Impact, Social Impact, and Climate Impact portfolios with a target weight equal to 10% of a client's U.S. stock allocation, according to Boris Khentov, Betterment's head of sustainable investing, who wrote a blog post on the new addition.

Investors who own VOTE will receive a short "ballot" where they can choose which of four possible shareholder engagements they want Engine No. 1 to prioritize. Betterment will then pass on those aggregate results to Engine No. 1, opening up a dialogue between the fund and its shareholders, according to Khentov. He says Betterment expects VOTE "will create a whole new category of financial products for retail investors, just as Betterment did when it launched in 2010."

New Tech-Focused ETFs Launch

Jacob Asset Management, which launched the Jacob Internet Fund in 1999, has now added its first ETF, the Jacob Forward ETF (JFWD). The actively managed ETF invests in innovative, forward-thinking companies that the team believes are leveraging technology to create significant competitive advantages and ultimately, superior, lasting growth.

While it can invest in a variety of sectors, its primary focus is technology and health care. It is an actively managed ETF that can be bought and sold through online brokerage platforms or a personal financial advisor. The new ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75%.

Defiance ETFs has launched the Big Data ETF (BIGY), a rules-based ETF that targets companies involved in data science and analytics. Trading on the NYSE, the ETF tracks the BlueStar Big Data & Analytics Index, which, according to the ETF's summary prospectus filed with the SEC, was composed of 29 constituents, including eight that were listed on a non-U.S. exchange as of May 26, 2021. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.45%.

Pacer Introduces 2 Dividend ETFs

Pacer ETFs, in partnership with Metaurus Advisors, has launched two dividend ETFs — the Pacer Metaurus US Large Cap Dividend Multiplier 400 ETF (QDPL) and the Pacer Metaurus US Large Cap Dividend Multiplier 300 ETF (TRPL).

QDPL seeks to provide cash distribution equal to 400% of the S&P dividend yield in exchange for about 99% of the price return performance of the S&P 500. TRPL seeks cash distributions equal to 300% of the S&P dividend yield in exchange for about 92% of the price performance of the S&P 500. Both ETFs have net expense ratio of 0.79%.

Leavenworth Capital Launches

Leavenworth Capital is a new asset management firm specializing in designing, developing and managing institutional-grade crypto asset SMAs for financial advisors, RIA firms and intuition and individual investors.

The Portland, Oregon-based firm is led by Jack Shepherd, its founder and CEO, who was previously at Thornburg Investment Management, Deutsche Bank, Jensen Investment Management and most recently Transamerica — primarily in sales and client services.

Ranjan Grover, chief investment officer portfolio manager, leads the investment team. He is a former data scientist and project engineer at Intel.