Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • CIOs
    • Consultants
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Private Credit
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • White Papers
  • International
    • U.K.
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Australia - New Zealand
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
    • Africa
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2024
    • Eddy Awards
  • Resource Guides
    • Active Thematic Global Equities
    • Retirement Income
    • Fixed Income
    • Pension Risk Transfer
    • Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs)
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Divestment Database
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
  • Print
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS
November 16, 2023 11:46 AM

GMO launches its first ETF

Kathie O'Donnell
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Famed value investor and co-founder of Boston-based GMO Jeremy Grantham
    Bloomberg
    GMO co-founder Jeremy Grantham believes a stock bubble burst is more likely sooner rather than later.

    GMO, a value-oriented firm co-founded by legendary investor Jeremy Grantham in 1977, on Nov. 15 launched its first ETF, the GMO U.S. Quality ETF.

    The actively managed fund, which goes by the ticker QLTY, will invest in high-quality U.S. stocks while offering the benefits of the ETF structure, including tax efficiency, daily transparency and continuous liquidity, GMO said in a news release.

    "Quality is nothing new at GMO, that's part of how we've invested — Jeremy's invested — since day one," said Tom Hancock, head of GMO focused equity and a portfolio manager of QLTY, in an interview, adding that GMO realized early on that quality companies — those that earn a sustainably high return on capital — can keep up with or beat the market over time "and they provide a lot less volatility."

    While the ETF may be new, GMO has been managing a quality strategy in mutual fund and separate account formats for nearly two decades, Hancock said.

    Though both the mutual fund — the $7.9 billion GMO Quality Fund — and the ETF are run by the same portfolio management team and have the same strategy, the key difference is that the ETF will invest solely in U.S. stocks, he said.

    Asked what spurred GMO to launch an ETF, Hancock said it was "certainly client-driven." While GMO historically has been an institutional manager, "institutional clients these days includes a lot of very wealthy individuals, RIAs … family offices and such that are tax-aware," he said.

    "And so, the tax-efficient aspect of ETFs has been a driving force behind that segment of our client base," Hancock said. "And even in the endowment, foundation, institutional world where they don't pay taxes, the convenience of trading ETFs frankly is pretty appealing as well."

    He also pointed to the growth in actively managed ETFs in recent years.

    "So, we manage an active strategy, it's not like a smart beta version of quality or anything," Hancock said.

    "And I think a few years ago that would have been a little anomalous in an ETF and now that's a pretty big growth area."

    The ETF was launched in partnership with the new Goldman Sachs ETF Accelerator, a digital platform that enables Goldman Sachs' clients to launch, list and manage ETFs quickly and efficiently, the release said.

    "GMO has always been committed to offering innovative investment solutions in the implementation structures that best address the needs of our clients," Scott Hayward, GMO's chief executive officer, said in the Nov. 15 release. "The launch of our first ETF and potential future ETFs are a natural evolution of that commitment, meeting demand from the intermediary and wealth management channels."

    As of Sept. 30, GMO, which serves institutions, financial intermediaries and families, had $58 billion in assets under management.

    Recommended for You
    Graphic showing market volatility with the letters ETF in the middle.
    Active, crypto take center stage in global ETF landscape — Trackinsight survey
    Vontobell-sign-main_i.jpg
    Vontobel to introduce its first active ETF
    ETF written on a computer screen with data points around it.
    Challenges face dual-class ETF structures, says Cerulli report
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    The State of Lifetime Income Report
    The Next Wave of LDI Evolution
    Retirement security to future income wins, TIAA brings you the latest financial…
    U.S. Public Funds Top Performers: Q2 2024
    Generative AI Investing: Opportunities at a Key Tech Inflection Point
    Research for Institutional Money Management: Advancing Physical Risk Modelling,…
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    October 23, 2023 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Custom Content
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • CIOs
      • Consultants
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Private Credit
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • White Papers
    • International
      • U.K.
      • Canada
      • Europe
      • Asia
      • Australia - New Zealand
      • Middle East
      • Latin America
      • Africa
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2024
      • Eddy Awards
    • Resource Guides
      • Active Thematic Global Equities
      • Retirement Income
      • Fixed Income
      • Pension Risk Transfer
      • Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs)
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • ESG Rated ETFs
      • Divestment Database
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
    • Print