Natixis Investment Managers, a global asset manager, is seeking exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer ETF share classes of mutual funds and mutual fund share classes of ETFs, a filing shows.
“We believe the multishare class approach would provide meaningful benefits to our clients,” a spokeswoman for the asset manager said. “Financial advisors and institutions continue to express interest for our actively managed investment strategies to be delivered in both the ETF and mutual fund wrapper.”
Natixis’ goal is to provide investors with increased choice when it comes to accessing investment strategies across its multi-affiliate lineup, she said.
With the Sept. 12 filing, which listed affiliates including Loomis, Sayles & Co. among applicants, Natixis joins a long list of asset managers seeking exemptive relief relating to a multiclass structure. The filing by the Natixis applicants came a day after Shelton Capital Management filed its application on Sept. 11.
Like other such applications before it, the filing by the Natixis applicants cited an exemptive order granted by the SEC to Vanguard Group in 2000. The order permitted Vanguard “to offer certain index-based open-end management investment companies with mutual fund classes and exchange-traded classes,” the filing said. Relying on that and subsequent exemptive orders, “Vanguard has become a major sponsor of index-based ETFs,” according to the filing.
Natixis Investment Managers had $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of June 30.
