Asset Manager Cohen & Steers Enters ETF Space With 3 Funds
The legacy mutual fund manager is building out its ETF footprint with people and resources to leverage its active management experience.
New York-based Cohen & Steers Inc. (CNS) has joined the exchange-traded fund space with three actively managed funds starting this week, and the $85.8 billion asset manager indicated that it will be committing more resources to these types of products.
The ETF debut dovetails with the portfolio management expertise of the 39-year-old firm that also manages 10 mutual funds, nine closed-end funds along with separate accounts, and private real estate portfolios.
The Cohen & Steers Real Estate Active ETF (CSRE) and the Cohen & Steers Preferred and Income Opportunities Active ETF (CSPF) will each reflect the firm's flagship mutual fund strategies.
The Cohen & Steers Natural Resources Active ETF (CSNR) represents the first time the firm has offered exposure to natural resources.
“Our natural resources ETF is a new capability for us, marking the first 1940 Act wealth-oriented exposure to natural resources in a standalone product,” said Daniel Noonan, executive vice president and head of wealth management.
Cohen & Steers Builds an ETF Footprint
Noonan, who joined Cohen & Steers in June after 13 years at State Street Global Advisors and also leading the active ETF business at Pimco, said the focus on ETFs “is one of the things that attracted me to this firm.”
In 2014, Cohen & Steers applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to introduce a nontransparent active ETF at a time when the industry considered the structure a gateway for active mutual fund managers to enter the ETF space.
While Cohen & Steers never introduced a nontransparent version of its active management capabilities, Noonan said the company did not stop focusing on ETFs.
“Over the past 10-plus years Cohen & Steers has been evaluating ways to introduce ETFs,” he said. “As the industry has evolved, transparency has become the industry standard.”
What About Mutual Funds?
Cohen & Steers has not yet joined dozens of other fund complexes in applying for permission to launch mutual fund ETF share classes, and none of the first three ETFs are clones or conversions of existing mutual funds, but Noonan confirmed that the ETF space is a big focus at the firm.
Last fall, Cohen & Steers hired Griffin Frank as head of ETF Capital Markets from T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW). And, just this week, the company hired Alex Berg as the new head of ETF sales from State Street Global Advisors.
“We are hiring industry veterans,” Noonan said.
Cohen & Steers is just the latest of the legacy mutual fund companies to find their way into the ETF space.
Over the past few months Lazard Asset Management, Thornburg Investment Management, and MFS Investment Management have made similar moves.
