Five More Actively Managed ETFs Your Broker Didn't Mention

We know this much: The actively managed ETF universe is slated to grow in terms of number of constituents this year. We also know that in terms of assets under management, actively managed ETFs have a small slice of the total ETF pie. To be precise, actively managed ETFs had $5 billion in AUM at the end of 2011 out of over $1 trillion in total exchange-traded products assets. That might be one reason some actively managed ETFs go unnoticed in the ETF conversation. However, there might just be a few more funds in this ETF genre that are worth a closer look. Here are five more actively managed ETFs your broker may have forgotten to mention. iShares Diversified Alternatives Trust ALT Maybe it's because the iShares Diversified Alternatives Trust is one of the oldest actively managed ETF that it goes somewhat ignored in the conversation about these type of funds. With an expense ratio of 0.95% and AUM over $83 million, ALT is designed to is to maximize absolute returns from investments with historically low correlation to traditional asset classes while seeking to control the risks and volatility inherent in futures and forward contracts by taking long and short positions in historically correlated assets, according to iShares. The ETF currently holds long positions in FTSE 100, CAC 40 and German bund futures, among other positions. ALT's short positions currently include Australian, Canadian and Japanese government bond futures. PIMCO Intermediate Muni Bond Strgy ETF MUNI There are two reasons investors interested in actively managed ETFs need to look at the PIMCO Intermediate Muni Bond Strgy ETF. First, its expense ratio of 0.35% is extremely low for an actively managed fund. Second, MUNI has a strong chart and is up over 9% in the past year. PIMCO Build America Bond Strategy ETF BABZ Build America Bond funds have proven popular with investors and the PIMCO Build America Bond Strategy ETF is a prime example of that. BABZ has accumulated almost $25 million in AUM in 16 months on the market and quiet as it has been kept, the ETF is up almost 21% in the past year. Oh yeah, BABZ yields 5.16%. AdvisorShares ROCKLEDGE SectorSAM ETF SSAM Forgive your broker for not mentioning this one because the AdvisorShares ROCKLEDGE SectorSAM ETF just debuted today. An interesting concept here as SSAM takes long positions in various SPDR funds that look poised to outperform and short positions in potential laggards. Current holdings can be found here. AdvisorShares Madrona Domestic ETF FWDD The AdvisorShares Madrona Domestic ETF debuted in June 2011 and uses a weighted allocation system based on consensus analyst estimates of the present value of future expected earnings relative to the share price of each security. The fund's benchmark is the S&P 500 and top-10 holdings include General Electric GE, CF Industries CF and Apple AAPL. Expense ratio: 1.12%.