A $55-billion-AUM firm (as of October 29), one that lays claim to being the biggest "digital currency asset manager" in the world, is entering the ETF business. (They already offer other ETPs, like a giant one focused on Bitcoin.)

David Vincent "Dave" LaValle Grayscale Investments, LLC Global Head of ETFs

On Wednesday, Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, and Dave LaValle, global head of ETFs at Grayscale, unveiled the New York City-based firm's first-ever exchange-traded fund: the Grayscale Future of Finance ETF (GFOF on the NYSE Arca, Inc.). The passive, non-diversified fund is a series of the ETF Series Solutions trust and is designed to track the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index, which launched last month.

The index currently tracks 22 companies and is designed "to become the key equity benchmark for our ever-evolving digital economy," states Dave Gedeon, global head of multi-asset indices at Bloomberg. (Bloomberg Index Services Limited serves as the new fund's index provider.)

Grayscale Advisors, LLC (a subsidiary of Grayscale Investments) serves as the new fund's investment advisor, while Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (VIA) serves as its subadvisor. Austin Wen, portfolio manager at VIA, and Rafael Zayas, senior vice president and head of portfolio management and trading at VIA, will PM the new fund.

The fund's expense ratio is 70 basis points.

"This product draws upon our historical strengths, while kicking off the next stage of our evolution as an asset manager that helps investors build portfolios that can stand the test of time," Sonnenshein states.

LaValle adds that the launch is "a first step in what will be an ongoing strategic expansion of Grayscale's investment offerings that leverage the ETF wrapper."

The new fund's other service providers include: Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Foreside Fund Services, LLC as distributor; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as counsel; and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services) as administrator, index receipt agent, and transfer agent. 

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