The folks at a $793-billion-AUM (as of October 31), publicly traded fund firm are expanding their $5-billion-AUM ETF lineup to 18 funds in total, thanks to a pair of recent debuts.

Last month, Noel Archard, global head of ETFs and portfolio solutions at AllianceBernsteinL.P. [profile], and Nelson Yu, head of equities at AB, unveiled the launch of the AB International Buffer ETF (BUFI on the Nasdaq) and the AB Moderate Buffer ETF (BUFM). Nashville-based AB serves as investment advisor to both new ETFs.

The inception date of BUFM and BUFI was December 9, and their expense ratio is 69 basis points. As of today, BUFI had $6.03 million in AUM, while BUFM had $9.53 million.

BUFM and BUFI follow the debut one year earlier of the AB Conservative Buffer ETF (BUFC), which has since grown to $715.73 million. AB's buffer ETFs are designed to offer some capital appreciation potential (upside) while providing some potential protection against market declines (downside), and they do so by investing mainly in exchange-traded options on other ETFs. For BUFI, that underlying ETF is the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, while for BUFM that underlying ETF is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF.

BUFI and BUFM's PM team includes three AB portfolio managers, all senior vice presidents: Alexander Barenboym, Joshua Lisser, and Benjamin Sklar.

In discussing the debut of BUFM and BUFI "ongoing interest" in BUFC, "the overall success of AB's ETF platform and our clients' increasing demand for additional strategies in the ETF wrapper."

"We think it's important to provide differentiated and adaptable products designed to help investors better navigate evolving market cycles," Archard states.

Yu puts the launch of BUFI and BUFM in the context of investors increasingly "looking for risk management tools."

"Our talented investment teams have a combined 26 years of experience researching, implementing and managing option strategies to advance our clients' success," Yu states.

BUFM and BUFI are both series of the AB Active ETFs. Their other service providers include: Ernst & Young LLP as independent accounting firm; ACA's Foreside Fund Services, LLC as distributor; Seward & Kissel LLP as custodian; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, and transfer agent. 

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