The team at an $11.6-trillion-AUM (as of December 31), publicly traded asset manager's $4.2-trillion-AUM, 1,500-fund ETF arm are rolling out an active liquid alts fund.

Laurence D. "Larry" Fink BlackRock Chairman, CEO

On Thursday (March 13), Raffaele Savi, global head of BlackRock's [profile] systematic investing arm (which has $306 billion in AUM), and Jessica Tan, head of Americas for global product solutions at BlackRock, unveiled the launch of the iShares Managed Futures Active ETF (ISMF on the Cboe BZX). New York City-based BlackRock's San Francisco-based BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) arm serves as investment advisor to the new ETF.

ISMF's inception date was last Wednesday (March 12), and it comes with an expense ratio of 80 basis points. On Friday (March 14), the new fund had about $15 million in AUM.

The PM team for the new ETF includes three BFA portfolio managers: Stephanie Lee, Richard Mathieson, and Jeffrey Rosenberg.

Savi puts the launch of ISMF in the context of what he describes as managed futures strategies' effectiveness "in delivering differentiated, counter-cyclical returns for investors over decades."

"ISMF can help more investors hedge and diversify their portfolios, regardless of market conditions," Savi states.

Tan adds investors are searching "for innovative ETF solutions that offer diversified sources of returns."

"ISMF exemplifies BlackRock's commitment to product innovation, combining our pioneering systematic capabilities with our proven expertise in managing ETFs," Tan states.

ISMF is a non-diversified, actively managed series of the BlackRock ETF Trust. The new ETF's other service providers include: BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (BTC) as securities lending agent; BlackRock Investments, LLC (BRIL) as distributor); PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent accounting firm; Sidley Austin LLP as counsel; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, and transfer agent. 

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