(InvestmentNews) Banking giant Morgan Stanley is reportedly working on its first exchange-traded fund platform, which it expects to debut later in the year.
The plan, revealed by Morgan Stanley director Daniel Simkowitz through an internal memo, happens amid growing demand for ETFs, which the bank sees as a way to diversify its investment vehicles.
Simkowitz says the banking giant has hired from BlackRock and Goldman Sachs for the initiative. The bank says the ETF will be a multi-asset platform, covering active and systematic strategies.
The ETF space saw a record $1 trillion worth of inflows in 2021, with Morgan Stanley now looking at the sector as significant. The bank has a total of $1.5 trillion in assets under management.
Morgan Stanley will now join major fund companies such as the American Century, Federated Hermes, Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, and Dimensional Fund Advisors who have wings in the ETF space.
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