TY - JOUR T1 - Assessing the True Cost of Strategic-Beta ETFs JF - The Journal of Index Investing SP - 35 LP - 48 DO - 10.3905/jii.2016.7.1.035 VL - 7 IS - 1 AU - Ben Johnson AU - Hortense Bioy AU - Dimitar Boyadzhiev Y1 - 2016/05/31 UR - https://pm-research.com/content/7/1/35.abstract N2 - The report examines the differences in costs between strategic-beta (smart beta) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their more ordinary passive peers. Cost is an important consideration that isn’t always at the forefront of investors’ minds when selecting strategic-beta funds. The study assesses differences in fees, replication costs, and trading costs for a selection of European-domiciled, strategic-beta ETFs and market-cap-weighted ETFs linked to some of the most widely used broad equity benchmarks, including the S&P 500, MSCI World, and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes. The authors find a wide disparity in the fees charged by strategic-beta funds and that their total cost of ownership is, on average, significantly higher.TOPICS: Exchange-traded funds and applications, performance measurement, developed ER -