An institutional bond trading platform is teaming up with an ETF titan on a new passive fund that seems to have landed some serious seed money.

Cyrus Taraporevala State Street Global Advisors Outgoing President, CEO

Yesterday, Rory Tobin, global head of the SPDR ETF business at State Street Global Advisors (SSGA [profile]), and Chris Concannon, president and chief operating officer of MarketAxess, unveiled the new SPDR MarketAxess Investment Grade 400 Corporate Bond ETF (LQIG on the NYSE Arca). The fund's inception date was Wednesday, and as of yesterday it already had $100.59 million in AUM. It comes with an expense ratio of 7 basis points (including a 2-bps fee waiver promised through May 11, 2023).

LQIG is a series of the SPDR Series Trust. SSGA Funds Management, Inc. serves as administrator and investment advisor. State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as custodian, securities lending agent, sub-administrator, and transfer agent. And State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) serves as distributor.

David Marchetti, Frank Miethe, and Bradley Sullivan — a trio of vice presidents in SSGA's fixed income beta solutions group — will PM the new fund, which tracks the MarketAxess U.S. Investment Grade 400 Corporate Bond Index. MarketAxess Technologies Inc. is the index provider.

"This innovative SPDR ETF is designed to provide bond investors with access to U.S. corporate bonds with higher relative liquidity and tradability," Tobin states.

Concannon contrasts the new fund's index with others that "reflect an investment with broad market exposure."

"The launch of LQIG will be instrumental in supporting increased tradability in the traditionally fragmented and less liquid fixed income market," Concannon states.

The new fund's other service providers are Ernst & Young LLP as independent accounting firm and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as counsel. 

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