A subadvised mutual fund shop with about $59 billion in AUM (as of March 31) is poised to enter the ETF business.

Today Kristof Gleich, president and chief investment officer of Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. [profile], confirms that the Harbor team plans to launch their first two ETFs this year. They filed with the SEC today and hope to roll the funds out in the fall (perhaps in September).

The two planned ETFs, both in the fixed income space, are the Harbor Scientific Alpha High-Yield ETF and the Harbor Scientific Alpha Income ETF. Both ETFs will be subadvised by BlueCove Limited, a three-year-old, London-based boutique that combines expertise in fixed income and engineering. The PMs will include: Benjamin Brodsky, chief investment officer of BlueCove: Michael Harper, head of portfolio management; Garth Flannery, head of asset allocation; and Benoy Thomas, head of credit.

Other service providers lined up for the ETFs include: State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian and transfer agent; Foreside Fund Services, LLC as distributor. An independent accounting firm for the ETFs has not yet been revealed in the filings.

Harbor's Gleich lauds BlueCove as "a world class boutique," and he puts their partnership on the planned ETFs in the context of Harbor's efforts to offer "active, innovative, differentiated and disruptive investment apporaches that address growing investor needs." 

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