Research co-authored by Assistant Professor Kate Upton examines the impact of a new asset class known as actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Kate Upton, assistant professor of finance in the Martha and Love School of Business, co-authored the paper titled “Actively managed ETFs versus actively managed mutual funds” that was published in Managerial Finance.
Upton and co-author Eli Sherrill explored the impact of this new financial instrument which combines exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and active management on the managed fund market. Their research indicates that actively managed ETFs are substitutes for existing actively managed mutual funds with lower fees, enhanced liquidity, and tax advantages.
The paper was presented at the 2017 Southern Finance Association conference.
The paper’s abstract reads:
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study if actively managed exchange-traded funds (AMETFs) and actively manager mutual funds (AMMFs) are complements or substitutes. It also tests if there are tax or liquidity clientele effects.
Design/methodology/approach
The study investigates the relation between individual AMMF flows and aggregate AMETF flows as well as individual AMETF flows and aggregate AMMF flows. A 2013 tax change is used to analyze if a tax clientele effect exists between the AMETF and AMMF markets. The authors use differences in investor groups for institutional versus retail fund share classes to test for liquidity clientele effects.
Findings
The authors find that equity and mixed AMETFs and AMMFs are substitutes, although not perfect substitutes. Taxation related differences between the two products creates a clientele effect for fixed income and mixed funds where tax-sensitive investors are more likely to substitute AMETFs for AMMFs surrounding tax increases. There is weak evidence that institutional investors may prefer AMETFs more than retail investors because of their enhanced liquidity.
Originality/value
This is the first study to investigate the flow relation between AMETFs and AMMFs. The fast-paced growth of the AMETF area coupled with the substitutability between the two products and tax advantages of AMETFs has the capability to gain significant market share from AMMFs in the future.