Ameriprise May Acquire ETF Issuer Grail Advisors

Ameriprise Financial AMP is reportedly close to acquiring Grail Advisors, a San Francisco-based investment advisor created specifically to build and distribute actively managed ETFs. Grail said in a SEC filing earlier this year it was perhaps looking to sell itself and the deal with Ameriprise, if it comes to fruitiion, would give Ameriprise a foothold in the actively managed ETF market. Grail said in the filing it was holding active talks with a potential suitor, but did not specify who that company was at the time. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Grail debuted its first actively managed ETF in May 2009. In August 2010, Grail closed two of its ETFs: the Grail RP Financials and Grail RP Technology. The funds, which were launched in September 2009, were managed by RiverPark Capital and had $2.5 million in assets each, according to Pensions & Investments. Grail currently has a lineup of five ETFs with $20 million in assets under management.