BlackRock, Precidian pull applications for new ETF type

BlackRock Inc. (BLK) and Precidian Investments pulled applications for a new type of exchange-traded fund that wouldn't disclose holdings daily, after regulators said they planned to reject them. Both firms had until Nov. 17 to request a hearing on their applications after the Securities and Exchange Commission said Oct. 22 that it probably won't approve them. The SEC approved the withdrawal, according to letters dated Nov. 14. “As we evaluate our options for non-transparent active ETFs, we remain focused on offering exposure-based iShares ETFs that provide daily transparency across the most global range of exposures to meet our clients' investment needs,” Melissa Garville, a spokeswoman at New York-based BlackRock, said in an e-mail. Money managers have been discouraged from introducing active ETFs, which combine security selection with the intraday trading and some of the cost-saving features of traditional ETFs, because the SEC's requirement for daily disclosure of holdings would make it easy for competitors to copy, and traders to anticipate, a manager's portfolio changes. The SEC approved a different application for a non-transparent vehicle by Eaton Vance Corp. on Nov. 6.