Fund firms are taking DFA Investments' [profile] cue and crafting new ETFs around academic research, InvestmentNews' Jason Kephart reports. BlackRock [profile], Northern Trust [profile] and Charles Schwab Investment Management [profile] are following suit, launching ETFs based on value, profitability, size and momentum, Kephart writes.

Kephart argues that although looking at these qualities isn't anything new, factor investing, an offshoot of passive investing, is becoming more popular.

Kephart interviewed Mark Carver, investment strategist at iShares, whom he quoted as saying, "The reality is that factor strategies are an active body of work that's happening in the world of academia and the industry. Samuel Lee, analyst at Morningstar, was quoted as saying that factor investing can't charge active-manager fees or it would defeat the purpose of factor investing.

To read more, click here.  

Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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