Macquarie Introduces Its First U.S. ETFs

The launches follow three new active funds in Australia.

Australian financial-services firm Macquarie Asset Management launched its first three U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds Wednesday as the firm emerges from behind the scenes of the ETF market. 

Macquarie, which has more than $575 billion in assets under management, has operated in the background of the ETF business for years as a custodian, market maker and advisory firm. It has also provided seed capital for funds but has eyed entry into the U.S. ETF market for some time now. It had mentioned doing so as early as 2015.  

The Australian asset manager has made moves in the ETF industry all year in the lead-up to its U.S. fund launches. In April, it created a partnership with fixed-income fund shop BondBloxx and is a subadvisor for the BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Sector Rotation ETF (HYSA), which launched in September. Last week, Macquarie launched its first three actively managed ETFs in Australia. 

Two of the new U.S.-listed funds, the Macquarie Global Listed Infrastructure ETF (BILD) and the Macquarie Energy Transition ETF (PWER), are global thematic stock funds that focus on infrastructure firms and companies moving to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, respectively.

The third, the Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF (STAX), invests in tax-exempt U.S. bonds with maturities between one and five years. The three actively managed funds add to the record number of active launches in 2023. 

“With significant growth in the actively managed U.S. ETF market, more investors are drawn to their versatility, efficiency, and convenience,” Macquarie Asset Management said in an email. 

These likely won’t be the last U.S. ETFs from Macquarie as the firm said it plans to expand its offerings for U.S. investors in the future. 

Macquarie ETFs Go Against the Grain 

With PWER having a clear climate-change focus and BILD investing in infrastructure companies that meet certain sustainability criteria, Macquarie may be fighting headwinds.  

After big inflows in 2021 and the beginning of 2022, flows into sustainable funds have fallen hard. According to Morningstar, sustainable funds had outflows for four of the last five quarters through the second quarter of this year.

Contact Gabe Alpert at [email protected].