SSgA and MFS partner on actively managed equity ETFs

Jan 9th, 2014 | By | Category: Equities

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), parent of the SPDR exchange-traded funds platform, and MFS Investment Management, an active global asset manager, have rolled out three new actively managed ETFs.

SSgA and MFS partner on actively managed equity ETFs

SSgA and MFS Investment Management have partnered to launch three actively managed equity ETFs on the NYSE Arca.

The funds, which have been listed on the NYSE Arca, offer MFS’s active stock selection and portfolio construction process in a low cost, liquid ETF structure backed up by SSgA’s established SPDR infrastructure.

Each of the funds is designed to seek to outperform its benchmark over a full market cycle by applying a consistent, disciplined bottom-up stock selection and portfolio construction process.

The selection process is a systematic combination of MFS fundamental and quantitative research.

The funds and their benchmarks:

SPDR MFS Systematic Core Equity ETF (SYE)
Benchmark: S&P 500 Index

SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF (SYV)
Benchmark: Russell 1000 Value Index

SPDR MFS Systematic Growth Equity ETF (SYG)

Benchmark: Russell 1000 Growth Index

Michael Roberge, president and chief investment officer of MFS, said: “Our approach to combining fundamental and quantitative research utilizes a varied approach to help investors find returns. We look forward to working closely with State Street, a pioneer in the ETF industry, to help a growing universe of investors enhance their asset allocation strategies with this new suite of actively managed SPDR ETFs.”

James Ross, executive vice president and global head of SPDR ETFs at State Street Global Advisors, added: “We are pleased to be working with MFS to provide a broader universe of investors with access to strategies that deliver active security selection with a focus on managing downside risk. The partnership is further evidence of our commitment to working closely with best-in-class asset managers to build on the SPDR ETF line-up and offer active strategy solutions to help investors achieve better investment outcomes.”

The ETFs, which feature expense ratios of 0.60 percent, are managed by Matthew Krummell, CFA, and Jonathan Sage, CFA, members of the MFS Quantitative Solutions Team.

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