Fidelity [profile] is finally taking the plunge into ETFs, with the goal of becoming the first major company to roll out ETFs managed by active stock pickers, writes Chris Condon of Bloomberg Businessweek.

Anthony Rochte will head the Denver-based unit running Fidelity's ETF business, Condon learned from an anonymous source.

In March, Fidelity hired Rochte away from State Street to run a division focused on specialized sector investments.

Fidelity spokesperson Vincent Loporchio told Condon that the firm is "not focused on specific products, but rather on how we can best position Fidelity to further develop its sector-investing capabilities in a manner that best meets the needs of our clients."

And Deborah Fuhr, former head of BlackRock's ETF research and now with research firm ETFGI, said Fidelity's entry into the market "would make others contemplating when and if to get into ETFs to think now is the time."

Condon writes that active managers have been reluctant to launch ne ETFs, fearing that the disclosure requirements will allow investors to learn their strategy, follow it, and not pay fees.

But BlackRock and some other firms have asked regulators that they be allowed not to disclose their holdings daily. But the SEC hasn't approved any of the requests. Former head of the SEC's investment-management division Andrew Donohue said in 2010 that the lack of transparency would prevent appropriate pricing of ETFs.  

Edited by: HFD


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