Updates
After 35 years with Ariel Investments, effective May 1, 2025, John P. Miller is retiring from his role as portfolio manager for the Ariel Fund.
RiverNorth/Oaktree High Income Fund (RNHIX) won the 2025 LSEG Lipper Fund Award for Best General Bond Fund for the five-year period ended November 30, 2024. RiverNorth is a closed-end fund specialist that has collaborated with other “A” managers on several funds. The fund embodies three strategies. RiverNorth manages the Tactical Closed-End Fund Strategy, and Oaktree manages the High Yield Bond and Senior Loan Strategies. Oaktree tactically manages the allocation between the High Yield Bond and Senior Loan Strategies based on both market opportunities and the risk-reward trade-offs between the two asset classes. The fund has returned 4.2% APR since inception, while the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index clocked in at 1.6%.
Briefly Noted . . .
Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio will undergo a reverse stock split, 1:3, effective May 16, 2025.
BlackRock has filed for a new active infrastructure ETF, iShares Active Infrastructure ETF, which will likely launch by the end of June. The ETF, which does not yet list a ticker or fees, is to be managed by Balfie Morrison, who leads the BlackRock Global Listed Infrastructure fund, which is currently only offered in Australia. The Australian fund launched in 2007 and has, since inception, trounced its benchmark (11.5% APR vs 8.75% for a Developed Core Infrastructure 50/50 index). Mr. Morrison became co-manager of that fund in September 2023. Reportedly, the new ETF will be substantially similar to that fund. If so, expect a bit over 50% US and a bit over 50% utilities. BlackRock also offers the passive, five-star $2.2 billion iShares US Infrastructure ETF (IFRA).
Small Wins for Investors
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Equity fund reopened to new investors effective April 1. The fund was soft closed since May 2020, when it hit its target capacity. The decision to reopen the fund is due to significant redemptions in recent years, due to the sentiment of emerging markets and underperformance.
Effective May 1, 2025, the expense ratio for Janus Henderson Corporate Bond ETF has dropped to 0.20% for at least 12 months.
Launches and Conversions
BlackRock GA Dynamic Equity fund and the BlackRock GA Disciplined Volatility Equity fund will be converted into the iShares Disciplined Volatility Equity Active ETF and the iShares Dynamic Equity Active ETF, respectively, on Sept. 12. The expense ratios will be 0.4%, and both funds will retain their current objectives and managers and maintain “substantially similar” strategies.
GQG US Equity ETF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund in registration. Under normal circumstances, the ETF will invest in U.S companies. Rajiv Jain, Brian Kersmanc, and Sudarshan Murthy are the portfolio managers; Siddharth Jain is the Deputy Portfolio Manager. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements will be 0.49%.
On or about May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio will convert to an ETF, the Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF.
On or about November 7, 2025, Morgan Stanley Global Fixed Income Opportunities Fund will be rechristened as Morgan Stanley Income Opportunities Fund and relaunched as an active ETF.
Pending shareholder approval in June, the Morgan Stanley Mortgage Securities Trust will relaunch as the Eaton Vance Mortgage Opportunities ETF.
On June 20, 2025, the OTG Latin America Fund will become the OTG Latin America ETF.
On April 3, Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF, an actively managed exchange-traded fund, launched. It offers diversified exposure to primarily short-duration U.S. investment-grade bonds, including structured products exposure, like asset-backed securities, with the flexibility to invest in below investment-grade debt to seek additional yield. The fund has an expense ratio of 15 bps.
Vanguard Total Inflation-Protected Securities ETF, Vanguard Total Treasury ETF, and Vanguard Government Securities Active ETF are in registration. Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, will be the portfolio manager of the inflation-protected securities and total treasury ETFs. John Madziyire, CFA, Nathan Persons, and Brian W. Quigley, CFA, will be the portfolio managers of the government securities active ETF. The Total Inflation-Protected Securities ETF will have total annual expenses of .05%; the Total Treasury ETF will have total annual expenses of .03%; and the Government Securities Active ETF will have total annual expenses of .10%.
Virtus IG Public & Private Credit ETF is in registration. David Albrycht, CFA; Zachary Szyndlar, CFA; Ryan Jungk, CFA; George Goudelias; and John Wu, CFA will manage the fund. The plan is to provide diversification by allocating the fund’s investments among various sectors of these markets, including, without limitation: investment grade corporate bonds; mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”), including commercial MBS and residential MBS; asset-backed securities (“ABS”); and collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), including private credit. Expenses have not been stated.
Old Wine, New Bottles
Effective on or about November 21, 2025, the BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF becomes the iShares U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness Aware Active ETF. “Readiness Aware.” Your guess is as good as ours.
Effective May 2, 2025, the Calamos Alternative Nasdaq® & Bond ETF will become the Calamos Nasdaq® Equity & Income ETF.
Carillon Chartwell Small Cap fund will be reorganized into the Chartwell Small Cap Growth fund on or about October 17.
The following name changes will take effect on June 2, 2025:
| Current Fund Name | New Fund Name |
| iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF | iShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA ETF |
| iShares ESG MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | iShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF |
| iShares Paris-Aligned Climate MSCI USA ETF | iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF |
| iShares Paris-Aligned Climate MSCI World ex USA ETF | iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF |
My first impulse was: “more babble.” Maybe not. Here’s their explanation.
The iShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA ETF’s Underlying Index is an optimized index designed to maximize exposure to positive ESG characteristics while exhibiting risk and return characteristics similar to the MSCI USA Index. In addition to its name change, effective with the rebalance at the end of May 2025, the Index Provider for iShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA ETF has updated the index methodology to require that the Underlying Index have a minimum ESG score of at least 20% better than that of the MSCI USA Index …
On June 25, 2025, Janus Henderson Responsible International Dividend Fund will be (new word for me) “repositioned” as the ESG-lite Janus Henderson International Dividend Fund. At base, they will loosen ESG strictures on the portfolio while not entirely abandoning “consideration” of ESG factors that are “financially material.”
The advisor to ONEFUND, an S&P 500 index fund? Effective immediately, the adviser’s name has changed from ONEFUND, LLC to CYBER HORNET ETFS. Presumably from Michael Saylor’s feverish, “Bitcoin is a swarm of cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom.” And presumably, they’re staking their future on their second fund, the CYBER HORNET S&P500 Bitcoin 75/25 Strategy ETF.
Effective May 1, 2025, Roundhill Small Cap 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF will be renamed Roundhill Russell 2000 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF.
The Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund has been renamed the Schwab Prime Advantage Money Fund. All other aspects of the fund remain the same. (Thanks, Don G.!)
Effective April 4, 2025, the WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund (PUTW) changed its name (now, the WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund), principal investment strategies, and ticker symbol.
On June 26, 2025, (a) Chip and I will be in Sweden, and (b) the WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund will become the WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund. But wait! There’s more. It’s going to be an index fund with a very distinctive index. Among the new fund’s other quirks are the following allocation bands:
0-45% of the Index will be allocated to securities of Japanese companies that are strategic holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
15-33% of the Index will be allocated to securities of Japanese companies that provide a high “total shareholder yield”
15-33% of the Index will be allocated to securities of Japanese companies that have a low valuation ratio but favorable earnings and dividend growth characteristics.
15-33% of the Index will be allocated to securities of companies that have exposures to thematic opportunities from developments in the geopolitical space, technology trends, and macroeconomic conditions. Within this latter category, 25-50% of the stocks will be companies positioned “to benefit from geopolitical considerations,” 5-25% from central bank movements, and 5-25% from cool new tech.
Off to the Dustbin of History
The Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF and Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF were closed and liquidated on April 29, 2025.
On April 25, 2025, Foundry Partners Small Cap Value Fund merged with North Square Small Cap Value Fund.
On May 9, 2025, the Gotham Enhanced 500 Plus Fund and Gotham Hedged Core Fund merged with and into the Gotham Index Plus Fund.
Effective April 11, 2025, the Hartford Schroders Sustainable International Core Fund was liquidated.
On April 17, 2025, the Mast Global Battery Recycling & Production ETF was shut down.
The Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund will experience termination and liquidation on or about May 28, 2025. (sigh. That means it will miss my birthday party again this year.)
On April 29, 2025, the Ramirez Government Money Market Fund was liquidated.
On May 16, 2025, the Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF will be liquidated.
Sprucegrove International Equity Fund was liquidated on May 1, 2025.
On or about May 30, 2025, the Tuttle Capital Self Defense Index ETF (not the silliest of the advisor’s offerings, IMHO) will be liquidated, terminated, and otherwise struck defenseless.
