New York Life Cuts Semitransparent ETF Line

New York Life Investments is converting its two semitransparent ETFs into fully transparent versions, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Jersey City, N.J.-based company filed Thursday that the IQ Winslow Large Cap Growth ETF (IWLG) and the IQ Winslow Focused Large Cap ETF (IWFG) will also be renamed as part of the transitions to making the underlying portfolios fully transparent.

Both ETFs were launched in June 2022, about two years after the first semitransparent ETFs debuted as a strategy that industry watchers expected to gain traction as a way for active managers to delay disclosing portfolio holdings, to quarterly instead of daily.

Semitransparent ETFs received regulatory approval in 2019 and the model was widely expected to sweep across the ETF space in early 2020 as managers of actively managed mutual funds saw it as an entry point without having to disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Semitransparent ETFs Fail to Gain Appeal

But at New York Life Investments, which has 23 ETFs that combine for $4.1 billion, the semitransparent ETFs have struggled to gain assets.

IWLG, which will be renamed NYLI Winslow Large Cap Growth, has $32.8 million. IWFG, which will be renamed Focused Large Cap Growth, has just over $11 million.

Performance of the two semitransparent ETFs has been relatively strong this year. IWLG is up 20.6% this year and up 40.2% over the trailing 12 months. IWFG is up 25.5% this year and up 43.3% over the trailing 12 months.

By comparison, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 14.5% this year and 26% over the trailing 12 months.

The expense ratios for the ETFs will remain at 60 basis points.

The fund transitions will become effective on Aug. 28.

A representative for New York Life Investments said the company did not have anyone available to comment for this story.

According to Morningstar, there are currently 70 semitransparent ETFs, which combine for nearly $8 billion.