An ETF startup has doubled its AUM so far this year, after tripling last year. They may debut more ETFs later this year, and with any luck they'll have a new type of product to roll out, too.

Christian Magoon Amplify ETF's CEO

"We continue to work on our ETF incubator technology called ACES [Amplify Convertible Equity Securities]," Christian Magoon, founder and CEO of Amplify ETFs [profile], tells MFWire. "We're encouraged by the conversations we're having with regulators."

Magoon describes ACES as a kind of "minor league for ETFs." Providers could test out their ETF ideas using the structure, and only the successful ideas would transform into true ETFs. He sees ACES as helping alleviate certain new ETF pains, like seed capital and excessive bid-ask spreads, while also reducing ETF closure risk.

"We're trying to launch an index-tracking vehicle that could convert into a traditional ETF once it hits a certain amount of assets and/or a certain time in the marketplace," Magoon says. "It would open up the ETF space to a lot more unique managers and index providers and research providers ... It would really democratize access into the ETF space."

On the AUM side, Wheaton, Illinois-based Amplify started 2017 with about $130 million in AUM. That climbed to $390 million by the end of the year, and as of June 14, 2018 it stood at $849 million.

Amplify launched a pair of ETFs earlier this month, and their lineup now includes seven ETFs in total. Watch for them to launch more this fall.

"I suspect that we'll have a few more ETFs launched this year," Magoon says. "We have a couple outstanding filings that will likely make their way to market." 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE