Stockpickers fight back by modifying the design of ETFs

炒股高手通过修改交易所交易基金的设计来反击

The investment industry is being transformed as disenchantment with the high fees and inconsistent performance of actively managed strategies fuels a shift by investors into index-tracking exchange traded funds.

投资行业正在转变，投资者对积极管理策略的高额成本和业绩不稳定的失望促使投资者将目光渐渐转向指数跟踪型交易所交易基金。

About $4.3tn in new cash has been ploughed into low-cost passively managed ETFs since 2009, leaving many traditional active managers who try to pick winning stocks struggling to respond. Stockpickers believe they have found a way to fight back by modifying the design of ETFs to suit actively managed investment strategies.

2009年以来，大约4.3万亿美元投入低成本被动管理的交易所交易基金，这让许多试图挑选绩优股的传统基金经理难以应对。炒股高手们坚信已经找到了反击方法：修改交易所交易基金的设计，以适应积极管理的投资策略。

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the US regulator, granted approval last year for several semi-transparent and non-transparent ETF models, which do not have to disclose their holdings daily. This will allow active managers to protect their trading strategies or the “secret sauce” which they hope will deliver outperformance. Hedge funds will not be able to frontrun trades or freeride the ideas that active managers use in these non-transparent ETF vehicles.

监管机构美国证券交易委员会去年批准了几种半透明和非透明的交易所交易基金模型，允许这些模型不必每天披露持有量。这一政策让活跃的经理人得以保护他们的交易策略或他们赖以成功的“秘密手段”。这些事对冲基金无法做到的，它们也同样无法仿效活跃经理人在这些不透明的交易所交易基金工具中所使用的理念。

“This [decision by the SEC] is a huge boost for the active ETF market. The introduction of non-transparent active ETFs should be viewed as a natural, healthy and desirable development,” said Hector McNeil, co-founder and chief executive of HANetf, an investment platform that helps ETF industry entrants.

“这一决策对活跃的交易所交易基金市场有巨大的鼓舞作用。推出非透明活跃交易所交易基金应被视为一种顺其自然，正确可持续的发展，“汉内特基金联合创始人兼首席执行官赫克托·麦克尼尔表示，汉内特基金是一个帮助交易所交易基金行业进入者的投资平台。

Many observers believed the transparency offered by index-tracking ETFs, which publish details of their holdings daily, had been one of the key attractions for investors. But Mr McNeil said investors would soon accept non-transparent ETFs, pointing to the growth already achieved by “smart beta” ETFs, which offered a blend of active and passive management strategies.

许多观察人士认为，指数跟踪型交易所交易基金所提供的透明度，是吸引投资者的关键因素，因为它可以每天公布持股细节。但麦克尼尔却认为，投资者很快就会接受不透明的交易所交易基金。他指出“聪明贝塔”交易所交易基金的交易额已经取得了增长，这种交易所交易基金就采取了主动和被动混合管理的策略。

“The creation of non-transparent active ETFs could unleash a wave of innovation and growth and, more importantly, offer tremendous benefits for end investors across Europe,” he said.

麦克尼尔表示:“创建非透明的活跃交易所交易基金可能引发一轮创新和投资增长浪潮，更重要的是，这将为整个欧洲的终端投资者带来可观的利润。”

Invesco, the fourth largest ETF provider, aims to launch non-transparent active ETFs this year. Anna Paglia, Invesco’s global head of ETFs, said non-transparent ETFs would offer lower-cost, more tax-efficient alternatives to US domestic equity mutual funds.

第四大交易所交易基金提供商景顺的目标是在今年推出非透明的主动型交易所交易基金。景顺全球主管安娜帕利亚表示，非透明交易所交易基金将成为美国国内股票共同基金成本更低，税收效率更高的替代选择。

US-listed ETFs do not pay fees for marketing and distribution, which are incurred by investors in mutual funds. ETFs also do not pay fees to transfer agents, who provide services to fund shareholders.

在美国上市的交易所交易基金不支付营销和分销费用，而这些费用是由共同基金的投资者产生的。交易所交易基金也不向转让代理人支付费用，转让代理人为基金股东提供服务。

But Ms Paglia acknowledged “performance will be key for the acceptance of non-transparent ETFs”.

但帕利亚承认，“业绩将决定非透明交易所交易基金能否成功”。

The creation of non-transparent active ETFs could unleash a wave of innovation and growth

非透明活跃交易所交易基金的创建可能会释放出一波创新和投资增长浪潮

The first actively managed ETF was launched in 2008. Close to 900 are now listed globally and most disclose their holdings daily. Assets held in active ETFs stood at just $194.2bn in July, according to ETFGI, a London-based consultancy. Investor interest has picked up with inflows reaching $35.4bn by the end of July, compared with the $42.1bn gathered over 2019.

首只主动管理型交易所交易基金于2008年推出。目前有近900家公司在全球上市，其中大多数公司每天披露其持股情况。伦敦咨询公司ETFGI的数据显示，7月份，活跃交易所交易基金持有的资产仅为1942亿美元。随着投资者兴趣的增强，截至7月底，流入资金达到354亿美元，而2019年这一数据则增长为421亿美元。

Just eight of the new non-transparent ETFs have been listed in the US and they have combined assets of $375m.

在新的非透明交易所交易基金中，只有8只在美国上市，总资产达到3.75亿美元。

Growth will depend on whether investors find the extra complexities of non-transparent ETFs palatable.

增长将取决于投资者是否满意非透明交易所交易基金的额外复杂性。

Fidelity, the Boston-based asset manager, has designed a model that will use a proxy basket of similar holdings to track the active ETF. This is to ensure the underlying strategy is kept secret. But it could raise costs for end investors as brokers tend to charge more when they have less information to protect themselves from potential losses.

总部位于波士顿的资产管理公司富达设计了一个模型，使用类似持有量的代理篮子来跟踪活跃的交易所交易基金。这是为了确保基本策略的保密性。但可能会提高终端投资者的成本，因为当经纪商为保护自己免受潜在损失时，他们所掌握信息就会减少，费用便会随之增加。

How active ETFs will perform in more volatile conditions also poses concerns. Darby Nielson, managing director of equity research at Fidelity, warned transactions based on the proxy basket “might not match” the value of the active ETF portfolio, especially in uncertain markets.

活跃的交易所交易基金在波动性更大的情况下会有怎样的表现，也引起了人们的担忧。富达股票研究董事总经理达比尼尔森警告称，基于代理权篮子的交易“可能与”活跃交易所交易基金投资组合的价值不匹配，尤其是在不确定的市场中。

A rival model designed by Precidian relies on an extra layer of trading between the investor and the ETF manager. So-called authorised participant representatives, also known as trusted agents, using confidential accounts will process creation and redemption orders for ETF units for large institutional investors.

Precidian设计的一个竞争模型依赖于投资者和交易所交易基金经理人之间的额外交易层。所谓的授权参与者代表，也称为可信代理人，将使用保密账户处理大型机构投资者的交易所交易基金单位的创建和赎回指令。

This could lead to questions from investors as to whether they have received a fair deal.

这可能导致投资者质疑他们是否得到了公平的交易。

Such complexities do not appear to have deterred potential partners, including BlackRock, and JPMorgan, who have acquired licences that permit them to use Precidian’s model.

这些复杂情况似乎并没有吓倒贝莱德和摩根大通等潜在合作伙伴，它们已经获得许可，可以使用普雷西迪安的模式。

Deborah Fuhr, the founder of ETFGI, said the new non-transparent structure did not solve the main problem confronting active managers.

ETFGI的创始人黛博拉•富尔表示，新的非透明结构并没有解决活跃经理人面临的主要问题。

“The big challenge facing all active managers is that most have not been able to deliver alpha [market-beating returns] consistently,” she said.

她表示:“所有主动型经理人面临的一大挑战是，大多数经理人无法持续提供高于市场的回报。”

Although the non-transparent ETFs would have the ability to cut fees, many investors would want these vehicles to establish a performance record and accumulate assets of at least $100m before they would consider making an allocation, she added.

她补充称，尽管这些不透明的ETF将有能力降低费用，但许多投资者希望这些工具建立业绩记录，并积累至少1亿美元资产，然后才会考虑进行配置。