Putnam Investments has debuted its first actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are based on four of the firm’s leading equity strategies. The new ETFs – Putnam Sustainable Leaders ETF (PLDR), Putnam Sustainable Future ETF (PFUT), Putnam Focused Large Cap Growth ETF (PGRO), and Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF (PVAL) – begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange.
The new offerings represent the first ETF products from the company, which currently provides an array of retail mutual funds, separately managed accounts, collective investment trusts, private funds and non-US funds.
“We are excited to enter the ETF marketplace today with the launch of active ETFs that employ Putnam’s time-tested, active management expertise,” says Robert L Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer, Putnam Investments. “The introduction of these four ETFs delivers on our long-standing commitment to meet the evolving needs of investors by offering a broad range of vehicle options that access our deep, fundamentally-driven investment capabilities.”
The new active ETFs have underlying investment portfolios similar to existing Putnam mutual fund and separately managed account strategies, and utilize the same portfolio managers and research teams as those related products.
The Putnam ETFs employ the firm’s established active investment approach, characterised by rigorous fundamental research and advanced risk management techniques – in the ultimate pursuit of alpha generation for investors. At the same time, they have attractive features that have made ETFs popular, including intraday liquidity, tax efficiency and a competitive fee structure.
Explaining Putnam’s first foray into the ETF realm, Reynolds adds: “We very deliberately chose four of our leading equity strategies, including two ESG-focused portfolios, to provide the marketplace with Putnam’s unique brand of active investing combined with the benefits of an ETF wrapper.”
