Calvert has filed initial registration papers for its first ETFs — a line of products that lists Morgan Stanley Investment Management as the adviser.
The fund provider, which is part of the Morgan Stanley-owned firm Eaton Vance, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 13 for four products. Those include the Calvert International Responsible Index, US Large-Cap Core Responsible Index, US Large-Cap Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Index and US Mid-Cap Core Responsible Index ETFs.
Each of those passively managed products would track a similarly named index built by Calvert, according to the filing. The ETFs could launch “as soon as practicable” after the effective date of the registration statement. Typically, subsequent prospectus filings known as 485APOS place a start date 75 days afterward.
The products appear to be the first ETFs provided by Calvert, Gabe Denis, the lead Morningstar analyst covering Morgan Stanley, said in an email statement.
“We are seeing many firms enter the ETF space, both to complement (or even replace) existing open-end funds and to launch completely new strategies. The reasons vary and can include wishing to provide a strategy in a potentially more tax-effective (and often cheaper, for investors) vehicle or to appeal to new investor bases and distribution channels,” Denis said. “It will take time to assess how investors react to these new ETFs and how they will sit alongside Calvert’s existing open-end mutual fund offerings.”
