BlackRock’s bond chief, Rick Rieder, has expanded his presence in the ETF industry with the launch of his second fund, the BlackRock Total Return ETF (BRTR), which began trading under the ticker BRTR. The actively managed ETF is led by Rieder’s team and comes approximately seven months after the introduction of the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC). BlackRock, the world’s largest ETF issuer, has a relatively smaller footprint in actively managed ETFs, and the launch aligns with the increasing demand for such funds.
The BRTR ETF charges a net expense ratio of 38 basis points and is designed to invest more than 90% of its holdings in fixed-income securities, including corporate debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, and convertibles. The move into actively managed ETFs reflects the industry’s shift away from being limited to index management. Currently, 36 out of more than 400 ETFs in BlackRock’s US lineup are actively managed.