BlackRock,Inc. (NYSE: BLK), the world's largest asset
manager, delivered an early holiday present to investors by unveiling another round of fee reductions on some of its
exchange-traded funds. The most recent batch of fee cuts pertain to some iShares smart beta ETFs.
iShares Smart Beta ETF Investors Enjoy Fee Cuts
BlackRock's iShares unit is the world's largest ETF sponsor. The new fee cuts cover six iShares smart beta ETFs.
“BlackRock is lowering fees for the ETFs by as much as 20 basis points, according to Securities and Exchange Commission
filings,” according to Bloomberg.
Among the iShares smart beta ETFs with new lower fees are the iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor USA Small-Cap ETF (NYSE:
SMLF), iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor USA ETF (NYSE:
LRGF) and the iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Intl ETF
(NYSE: INTF).
3 In Focus
INTF, LRGF and SMLF debuted in May 2015 as part of a suite of five multi-factor ETFs from iShares; annual fees at the time of
debut ranged from 0.35 percent to 0.6 percent. The ETFs focus on quality, momentum, value and low size in the stock selection
process.
Multi-factor exchange-traded funds are an increasingly popular segment of the broader ETF landscape. Perhaps part of the reason
why investors are embracing these ETFs is that timing individual
investment factors, such as low volatility, momentum and value, is difficult.
Multi-factor ETFs offer investors exposure to several investment factors — the idea being that investors don't need to time when
a certain factor will perform well and when others will fall out of favor. Notable issuers, including Goldman Sachs Group
Inc (NYSE: GS) GS 0.07 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) JPM 0.58 percent and John
Hancock, have brought multi-factor offerings to market.
Success Of Multi-Factor ETFs
As of November 20, smart beta ETFs around the world attracted $45 billion in new assets compared with $30 billion for all of
2015, according to BlackRock.
In May, BlackRock revealed
data that showed smart beta ETF assets will reach $1 trillion on a global basis by 2020 and then more than double to $2.4
trillion by 2025. The global ETF industry currently has north of $3 trillion in assets under management.
The fee cuts on the multi-factor ETFs are not the first this year by iShares. In October, the issuer unveiled lower fees for 15
of its 20 iShares core ETFs.
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