Daily ETF Watch: Prudential Files 1st Fund

Insurer and mutual fund purveyor Prudential Investments is looking to get into the ETF business at a time when ETF assets are reaching new highs and other insurers and mutual fund stalwarts  such as John Hancock and Eaton Vance are trying to gain entry into the space.

Prudential has filed with regulators seeking permission to launch actively managed ETFs, with its first proposed fund a bond fund dubbed the Prudential Core Bond ETF. That fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income securities, including—but not limited to—U.S. government securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, corporate debt securities and foreign securities.

The fund may also invest in other ETFs.

Total U.S.-listed ETF assets reached a record of $1.704 trillion on Thursday, Jan. 16, according to data compiled by IndexUniverse, the latest sign that the 21-year-old ETF industry continues to expand.

Launches

• Vident Financial is launching its Vident Core U.S. Equity ETF (VUSE) on the Nasdaq exchange on Wednesday, Jan. 22, hoping to replicate the success of its recently launched Vident International Equity ETF (VIDI), which pulled in $150 million in new assets in just its third day of trading.  VIDI, which launched in late October, now has nearly $550 million.

VUSE will invest in U.S. companies based on “a demonstrated commitment to high standards of corporate governance, financial reporting and managerial stewardship,” according to a regulatory filing. The fund carries an expense ratio of 0.55 percent, or $55 for every $10,000 invested.

Filing

• UBS is shutting down a pair of oil and gas ETNs on Jan. 23: the Etracs Oil Futures Contango ETN linked to the ISE Oil Futures (OILZ) and the Etracs Natural Gas Futures Contango ETN (GASZ).

Both OILZ and GASZ launched in June 2011 and currently manage $9.9 million and $11.4 million, respectively. They both charge 0.85 percent, or $85 for every $10,000 invested.