ETFs

In this week’s fund news, Grayscale hopes to convert its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF; Schwab joins the nontransparent active ETF game; and Invesco plans to integrate ESG into all its investments.

Two firms this week have filed to launch exchange-traded funds based around so-called blank-check companies.

Relative to the S&P 500, funds that track companies that meet ESG standards have more exposure to cyclical sectors than the broader industry.

In the first quarter of 2021, companies were 14 times more likely to have positively raised or initiated a dividend than negatively cut or suspended dividend payments. This was nearly triple the ratio from a year earlier.

We're in a stock-pickers' market.

With its current level of assets, GBTC would rank among the 30 largest U.S. ETFs and as the second-largest commodity ETF behind State Street’s SPDR Gold Shares fund (GLD), which has about $57 billion.

In this week’s fund news, Morningstar points to lax risk controls and personnel issues at Ark, CFRA acquires technical research shop Lowry, and Goldman will soon bring cryptos to private wealth clients.