The folks at a New York City area startup are rolling out their 18th ETF in 10 months. The new offering focuses on the defense industry.

On Friday (October 11), Taylor Krystkowiak, vice president and investment strategist at Themes ETFs, and Paul Marino, chief revenue officer at Themes, unveiled the launch of the Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF (NATO on the Nasdaq). Greenwich, Connecticut-based Themes Management Company, LLC serves as investment advisor to the new index fund.

NATO comes with an expense ratio of 35 basis points. Its inceptio date was Friday.

Solactive AG serves index provider to NATO, which is designed to track the Solactive Transatlantic Aerospace and Defense Index. The new ETF's PM team includes: Paul Bartkowiak, AVP of portfolio management at Themes; Dingxun (Kevin) Shao, VP of product management and development; and Calvin Tsang, head of product management and development.

The new fund is designed to invest in defense contractors and aerospace companies, specifically ones based in countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (i.e. the namesake for the new ETF's ticker).

Krystkowiak puts the launch of the NATO ETF in the context of European NATO members boosting defense spending and being "expected to meet their 2% GDP target for the first time since the alliance announced the goal in 2014."

"Our NATO ETF offers investors a way to own this opportunity via targeted exposure to the defense sector," Krystkowiak states.

Marino notes Themes' commitment "to providing thematic and sector-specific ETFs at costs that are on average 40% lower than comparable funds."

"We will continue to innovate our product set so that investors and advisors can own the specific opportunities they want exposure to," Marino states.

NATO is a series of Themes ETF Trust. The new fund's other service providers include: SS&C's Alps Distributors, Inc. as distributor; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Practus, LLP as counsel; U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services) as administrator, dividend disbursing agent, index receipt agent, and transfer agent; and U.S. Bank National Association as custodian. 

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