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ARTICLE · 08 AUGUST 2016

SEC Streamlines Exchange Listings For Actively Managed ETFs

Ropes & Gray LLP
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Most new index ETFs qualify for expedited listing under generic listing standards that have been available to the various listing exchanges for more than a decade.

United StatesFinance and Banking
Ropes & Gray LLP'S Investment Management Practice Group
Ropes & Gray LLP'S Investment Management Practice Group
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On July 22, 2016, the SEC approved proposed listing rule amendments by NYSE Arca, Inc. (available here) and Bats BZX Exchange, Inc. (available here) to provide "generic" listing standards for actively managed ETFs. These generic listing standards, which are effective immediately, permit qualifying actively managed ETFs to bypass the time-consuming Rule 19b-4 approval process administered by the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets. The new generic listing standards should help entrants design new actively managed ETFs and bring them to market more quickly. The length and uncertainty of the Rule 19b-4 process has made launching and listing actively managed ETFs difficult and may have deterred some firms from stepping into the rapidly growing ETF market.

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