Can ProShares [profile] make itself palatable to more investors?

Barron's reports that the $23 billion ETF firm is "refashioning itself as a maker of a wider array of "alternative" investments. These include long-short investing, merger arbitrage, and global private equity, a niche in which ProShares launched a fund last week. "

"The company has undertaken a significant repositioning to become the premier provider of alternative ETFs," Barron's quotes CEO Michael Sapir.

ProShares, according to Barron's, is "best known for its inverse and leveraged stock funds�which raised eyebrows among regulators because of their complexity."

Brendan Conway writes this on the firm's chances:

Will ProShares succeed? It will be a tough slog. Other fund sponsors are just as ready to capitalize if alternative ETFs take off. WisdomTree Investments, PowerShares, and AdvisorShares are others with funds in this area. On the other hand, ProShares may have no choice.�