Brett Sheely, Head of ETF Specialists, AllianceBernstein, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel to discuss AllianceBernstein’s entry into the active ETF market.
AllianceBernstein launched its first active ETF in September 2022 and quickly grew to roughly $800 million in assets. This successful launch ranks as the fifth largest asset gathering among new ETF issuers. AB now offers three actively-managed equity ETFs and three actively-managed fixed income ETFs. The new active ETF market is showing significant popularity, attracting one-third of all ETF flows in the first quarter of 2023.
AB had many goals and strengths to bring to the active ETF market. While AB has long been well-known to institutional investors, ETFs allows the firm to bring institutional-quality products to retail investors. Alliance Bernstein has extensive research capabilities and active management experience. For example, the March 2023 launch of the AB Disruptors ETF (FWD) leverages the 11 equity analysts dedicated to the technology sector and 73 equity analysts overall at the firm. In addition to this strong fundamental research team, AB also brings their institutional technology to the retail market, deploying systems for quantitative modeling, liquidity management, and advanced trading.
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