Daily ETF Watch: More Niche Filings Made

The Principal Financial Group has filed for two more ETFs that are expected to launch on the Nasdaq. Unlike the firm’s previous ETFs, which are either active or smart-beta, these pending funds are focused on niche subsets of the market.

The Principal Healthcare Innovators Index ETF is set to come with an expense ratio of 0.42%, but has not yet been assigned a ticker. The fund will look to cover “early-stage” U.S. health care firms that fall within the small- and midcap segments. The companies will mainly be drawn from the health care equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences subsectors, the prospectus said.

The Principal Millennials Index ETF (GENY) will charge 0.45% and is global in scope. It targets companies that benefit from the spending habits of millennials—defined for the purposes of the fund as consumers born between 1980 and the mid-2000s.

According to the prospectus, the fund will focus on companies operating in the social media, digital media and technology, healthy lifestyles, consumer goods, and travel and leisure spaces. The underlying index can include small-, mid- and large-cap companies, and individual components will be weighted by their market capitalization and their exposure to the target demographic.

GENY is similar to the recently launched Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (MILN), which also looks to invest in companies benefiting from the consumer behavior of millennials. Another fund is also in registration that will focus on the same group—the Telsey Millennial Consumer ETF (TLSY).

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected].