Grail Advisors, a San Francisco-based firm specializing in active ETFs, is looking for a strategic partner with distribution muscle, The MFWire.com has learned.

"We love the ETF space, but we are worried it is turning into a distribution game where the successful players need lots of boots on the ground -- we have the products and we need a partner with depth of field force," wrote Don Putnam, managing partner at merchant bank Grail Partners, which owns around half of Grail Advisors, in an e-mailed response to questions from The MFWire.com.

Grail Advisors CEO Bill Thomas could not immediately be reached for comment.

Grail Advisors' product lineup includes RP Focused Large Cap Growth ETF, RP Growth ETF, Grail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF, Grail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF and Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF.

In June, Grail Advisors officials filed papers with the SEC to launch an emerging markets fixed income ETF to be sub-advised by Jeff Gundlach's DoubleLine Capital and in September, Grail executives filed to launch an ultra short duration ETF to be sub-advised by Western Asset Management. 

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