In a process that started three years ago, Blue Tractor has filed an eighth exemptive relief application with the SEC for the firm's new ETF structure. The application was filed on June 21.

Simon Goulet Blue Tractor Group / Cliniconex Co-Founder / Director of Business Operations

Simon Goulet, co-founder of Blue Tractor, referred MFWire to the filing and declined to comment.

Blue Tractor's application is for their Shielded Alpha ETF structure, which is based on a high transparency model that would still protect active managers' strategies. Their plan would have daily reports on portfolio composition, listing all of and only the fund’s actual portfolio, but not disclosing any of the actual portfolio weightings. Blue Tractor is confident that this would keep the market updated while not disclosing or even hinting at any future plans the manager has.

Word is that proceedings with the SEC have become centered on minor details of the plan, with the structure of it being more or less locked. The SEC wants all new ETF structures to use similar language in order to conform the process, MFWire has learned.

The people behind Blue Tractor believe that their strategy is set apart from others', like Precidian’s ActiveShares ETF structure. Their pitch is that the Shielded Alpha structure is far less opaque, providing both daily baskets, and not listing stocks in a proxy basket that either aren't actually in the ETF, or leaving certain stocks out that are in the ETF. 

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