NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc has laid the groundwork to launch actively managed exchange-traded funds, becoming the latest Wall Street bank to set its sights on the fast-growing market.

The company late on Friday sought permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to introduce what could be a series of active ETFs, according to the filing, which names an equity dividend ETF as its initial fund.

Goldman separately filed late on Friday for regulatory approval to self-index, which would allow Goldman to launch funds based on their own proprietary indexes created in-house.

"They're kind of covering all of their bases," giving the firm broad leeway to design and introduce a variety of ETF products, said Ben Johnson, a Chicago-based analyst with Morningstar.

Goldman in July shifted a key executive to help grow its ETF product strategy, but otherwise has been largely quiet on its plans to expand into the ETF space.

The company five years ago filed for permission to launch passive index-tracking ETFs, but never introduced any funds. Friday's filing was the first to mark its foray into the active ETF space.

Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Andrea Raphael confirmed the filings, but declined to comment on them more specifically. "We are excited" about the July decision to name 19-year industry veteran Michael Crinieri to lead the ETF effort, she said.

The initial fund named in the filing, the Goldman Sachs Equity Dividend Fund will primarily invest in dividend-paying U.S.-listed equities, according to the filing.

Wall Street Banks Wade In

The Goldman filings come as some of Wall Street's biggest banks have begun wading into the exchange-traded funds market.

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