The active revolution

Grail Advisors sought to revolutionise the US fund market with the launch of the first actively managed exchange-traded fund earlier this year. As the product range expands, will mutual fund providers and investors go with the flows? Sophia Morrell reports

Imagine the performance of a mutual fund with total transparency, tax efficiency, and intra-day liquidity at a fraction of the expense. This was Grail Advisors’ vision in May 2008 when it was launched with the aim of constructing the first actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. A year later saw the launch of the first product – the Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – and momentum has been gathering ever since.

“We see this as a