Odds & Ends: Goldman Debuts Defensive Stock ETF

Plus, FT Cboe Vest and newcomer Panagram launched funds last week.

TwitterTwitterTwitter
HeatherBell_green_bg
|
Reviewed by: Heather Bell
,
Edited by: Heather Bell

Activity seems to be picking up in the exchange-traded fund industry as the year gets rolling. Invesco just announced the closure of 26 of its ETFs, and this week saw launches from the likes of Fidelity, Goldman Sachs and FT Cboe Vest. 

The actively managed Goldman Sachs Defensive Equity ETF (GDEF) will invest in a portfolio of quantitatively selected large and midcap U.S. stocks, and apply an options put spread collar on the S&P 500 Index or ETFs tracking it.  

The options overlay allows for more upside than a traditional options collar but can translate into less downside protection. The prospectus notes that the approach can limit downside risk, but that in a rising market, investors could underperform a similar portfolio of stocks without the options strategy attached to it.  

GDEF comes with an expense ratio of 0.55% and lists on the NYSE Arca. It launched on Jan. 23.  

At the same time, FT Cboe Vest, a partnership between First Trust and Cboe Vest, rolled out the FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF – January (GJAN), a defined outcome product that offers exposure to the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) up to a cap that is reset annually and a fixed downside buffer.  

GJAN is the first of a series that will offer protection against losses up to 15% before fees and expenses. The FT Cboe Vest buffer ETF family also includes funds that protect against losses up to 10% and against losses between 5% and 30%. GJAN’s initial cap for its first 12 months of trading is 15.75%.  

The fund has an expense ratio of 0.85% and lists on Cboe Global Markets.  

Newcomer Panagram Structured Asset Management brought to market the Panagram BBB-B CLO ETF (CLOZ) on Tuesday. The actively managed fund invests in collateralized loan obligations that are rated between BBB+ and B- by a major ratings agency, a range that includes the bottom tier of investment grade debt and the upper tier of junk debt. 

CLOZ has an expense ratio of 0.50% and lists on the NYSE Arca.  

On Wednesday, the Timothy Plan, an issuer of funds aligning with biblical principles, rolled out the actively managed Timothy Plan Market Neutral ETF (TPMN), which aims to achieve high current income along with performance that has a low correlation to stocks and bonds.  

The fund will invest in dividend-paying foreign and domestic equities along with taking long and short positions in index futures. As part of its biblically based methodology, the fund will screen out securities with exposure to abortion, pornography, alcohol and tobacco production and gambling, as well as entertainment that does not align with biblical values or companies that offer support for the LGBTQ community. 

TPMN can also invest in vehicles that are tied to the Victory High Dividend Volatility Weighted BRI Index. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.65% and lists on the NYSE Arca.  

Other Developments 

There were several other changes related to existing ETFs. In addition to the 26 pending closures announced by Invesco during the week, the APEX HealthCare ETF (APXH) saw its last day of trading on Tuesday.  

On Tuesday, the expense ratio for the Gadsden Dynamic Multi-Asset ETF (GDMA) increased from 0.87% to 0.91%.  

And on Wednesday, the Strive 2000 ETF (STXK) changed its name to the Strive Small-Cap ETF and its index from the from the Bloomberg US 2000 Index to the Bloomberg US 600 Index.  

 

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected] 

Heather Bell is a former managing editor of etf.com. She has also held editorial positions at Dow Jones Indexes and Lehman Brothers. Bell is a graduate of Dartmouth college and resides in the Denver area with her two dogs.