A third mutual fund shop just caught Eaton Vance's [profile] alternative to ETF fever.

This morning Jim Davey, president of Hartford Funds [profile], confirmed that his Radnor, Pennsylvania-based firm is teaming up with Eaton Vance's Navigate Fund Solutions subsidiary to launch a family NextShares. Eaton Vance calls NextShares "exchange-traded managed funds," or ETMFs for short, and they're the Boston-based mutual fund firm's answer to active ETFs.

"We just find the structure appealing," Tom McConnell, head of product innovation and implementation at Hartford Funds, tells MFWire. "We appreciate new thinking around here."

"The concept of new thinking in the marketplace and embracing that to provide more differentiation and value for our clients is foremost in our mind," McConnell adds.

He describes working with Navigate as "a natural pairing" for the Hartford.

"We're absolutely delighted to welcome the Hartford Funds to the NextShares family," Eaton Vance spokeswoman Robyn Tice tells MFWire.

This is still early days for the partnership. The Hartford hasn't filed for its NextShares funds yet, and which strategies (new or old) that they'll end putting inside ETMFs. As for traditional ETFs, the Hartford doesn't currently offer any, yet McConnell won't rule it out as a possibility someday.

The first fund firms to bite on Eaton Vance's ETMF idea were American Beacon and Gamco. 

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