Capital Group fills out gaps in its line-up with new ETFs

By Suzanne McGee

June 27 (Reuters) - Capital Group rolled out seven new active exchange-traded funds on Thursday, boosting its ETF line-up to 21 products.

Scott Davis, head of ETFs at Los Angeles-based Capital Group said the new ETFs filled out the line-up of core strategies "so that financial advisors can build complete portfolios".

"We looked at the gaps between what we offer today, and what advisors are asking us for most urgently as interest in active ETFs accelerates," Davis said.

Research group ETFGI says U.S. ETF assets hit a record $9 trillion at the end of May. But Citigroup strategists said this month that while ETF assets under management have soared 23% since the end of 2021, assets in retail mutual funds fell 10.1%.

Scott Chronert, strategist at Citigroup, said that over the next five to ten years, said they "project that an additional $6 trillion to $10 trillion in mutual funds is at potential risk of ETF replacement/cannibalization".

Capital Group said its 14 existing ETFs, all of which are actively managed products launched in the last two years, have assets of $29 billion, giving it a 4% share of the active ETF market, which is the fastest-growing part of the ETF universe.

The new funds include four equity funds, including a global stock ETF and an international core equity fund.

Capital Group New Geography Equity ETF emphasizes companies that derive a large portion of their revenues from emerging markets, rather than those domiciled in emerging markets, which Davis believes will deliver less volatile returns.

Meanwhile, Capital Group Conservative Equity ETF will target blue-chip companies with sustainable dividends.

The firm's three new fixed income funds will offer investors exposure to ultra-short income, dollar-hedged international bonds and a portfolio of high-income municipal bonds. (Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Alexander Smith)