State Street files for active ETFs in US

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has filed for exemptive relief to launch six actively managed ETFs in the US.

The firm made its request to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the name SSgA Active ETF Trust a few days after iShares' petition for active ETFs was passed by the regulator.

SSgA's application reveals all but one of the planned funds are ETFs-of-ETFs. The sixth, the SSgA Blackstone/GSO Senior Loan ETF, seeks to outperform the S&P/LSTA US Leveraged Loan 100 index and will invest 80% of net assets in senior loans.

The SSgA Real Assets ETF is aiming for real return, while the Income Opportunities ETF looks for yield-generating assets to provide total return. Both invest in ETPs across a number of asset classes.

The remaining three funds offer varying degrees of income, capital protection and capital appreciation by weighting equity and debt ETPs at different levels.

The Conservative Allocation ETF aims to avoid excessive portfolio volatility through ETPs with a larger allocation to debt than other asset classes. The Moderate Allocation ETF will invest in ETPs providing balanced debt and equity exposure, and the Aggressive Allocation ETF will use ETPs weighted towards equities.

State Street has announced plans to substantially expand its SPDR range of ETFs in Europe this year, but has previously emphasised its preference for conventional, physically-replicated equity and fixed income ETFs.