It's taken more than eight years, but it looks like Fidelity [profile] is returning to the proprietary ETF game.

In September 2003 the Boston-based mutual fund giant launched its first ETF, OneQ [see MFWire.com, 10/2/2003], and now Fidelity wants to create more, this time using a "master-feeder" structure where the ETFs invest in a master fund that could be used for other investment products, too [see filing].

Barron's, the Financial Times, IndexUniverse and Reuters all reported on the news.

Fidelity spokeswoman Sophie Launay told IndexUniverse that the firm is "always looking for new ways to serve" investors. The new funds could include equity, fixed income and international offerings, all passive. Its only existing OneQ ETF, which has more than $155 million in assets, tracks the Nasdaq Composite Index. By comparison, IndexUniverse noted that on November 30 iShares boasted $444.71 billion in ETFs, State Street Global Advisors had $264.55 billion and Vanguard had $173.37 billion.

Last year Fido also unveiled a commission tree trading program for 30 BlackRock iShares [profile] ETFs when traded by Fidelity's discount brokerage customers. Launay insisted that that partnership "does not change in any way" in light of the new effort, and Fido spokesman Vin Loporchio made a similar statement to Reuters.

Barron's notes that a number of other active fund firms have filed with the SEC, including AllianceBernstein, Eaton Vance, Federated, Janus, Legg Mason, Neuberger Berman and T. Rowe Price. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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