PowerShares has raced ahead of other ETF sponsors by filing the first prospectuses for actively managed ETFs with the SEC. The Invesco-owned company filed to launch four actively managed ETFs, including three equity ETFs and one bond ETF, this morning.

The new ETFs include the PowerShares Active AlphaQ Fund, PowerShares Active Alpha Multi-Cap Fund, PowerShares Active Mega-Cap Portfolio and the PowerShares Active Low Duration Portfolio.

One key question that remains unanswered about the active ETFs in the filing is their expense ratios. The document does not list this information currently.

The portfolio of the funds will be based on a proprietary computer model, not pegged to a benchmark. Also the portfolio will only be able to be changed on the last business day of each week (each Friday).

Other companies that have filed for regulatory relief (but not an actual prospectus) to launch actively managed ETFs are; Bear Stearns Asset Management, Vanguard, and XShares.

One industry source speculates that Bear Stearns may be the next to file a prospectus. 

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