Name: Barclays ETN+ Select MLP ETN
Ticker: ATMP
Launch Date: 3/13/2013
AUM: $136.51 million
The Barclays ETN+ Select MLP ETN (NYSEArca: ATMP), which launched in March of this year and comes in second place on the list of 2013 launches, has a dividend yield of 1.03 percent and $136.5 million in AUM.
Paul Baiocchi, senior ETF specialist at IndexUniverse, explains that an MLP ETN tracks an index of master limited partnerships which are pass-through vehicles that transport, process and store energy products and typically pay big yields. Baiocchi goes on to explain that the Barclays ETN does not hold any MLPs; rather, it promises to provide the return of an index of MLPs.
“MLP ETNs are unique in that they usually pay coupon payments made to replicate the distributions of the MLPs in the indexes they track,” concluded Baiocchi.
And the winner is…
Name: SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan
Ticker: SRLN
Launch Date: 4/3/2013
AUM: $279.19 million
The champion of asset gatherers for 2013’s new funds to date is the SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan fund (NYSEArca: SRLN). SRLN is what IndexUniverse Senior ETF Specialist Paul Baiocchi calls, “A perfect case for active management.” SRLN is two months old and holds $279 million in assets. Why? It’s one of a kind, and it works.
Not only are actively managed fund success stories hard to come by, but an actively managed senior loan ETF has yet to be seen. However, it’s working because, as Baiocchi put it, “As rates go up, so too do yields on senior loans. Of course, there’s the potential for a lag—as long as three months—but the allure of higher, market-adjusting yields is clearly striking a chord for many investors.”
