Lazard Debuts First US ETFs, Betting On Megatrends, Japan And AI
Lazard Asset Management has officially entered the U.S. ETF industry, launching its first three actively managed ETFs on Monday — Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (NASDAQ:THMZ), Lazard Japanese Equity ETF (NASDAQ:JPY), and Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (NASDAQ:TEKY). With its stellar reputation for institutional-quality investment ideas and global research, Lazard is now putting some of its most persuasive concepts into the ETF wrapper—first ever in U.S. territory.
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"This launch represents a significant step forward in making Lazard's sophisticated investment solutions accessible to more investors," said Rob Forsyth, global head of ETFs at Lazard. "We're launching high-conviction, alpha-seeking ETFs managed by expert, specialized teams."
THMZ is designed to harness the potential of seismic changes in the international economy—technological, demographic, or geopolitical. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.50% and invests in a diversified portfolio of themes associated with long-term megatrends.
JPY focuses on Japan’s changing economy as the nation shifts away from years of deflation towards a more inflationary, growth-oriented atmosphere. With a 0.60% expense ratio, JPY is managed actively by a bilingual team with decades of experience in local markets.
Focusing on the next wave of innovation, TEKY invests in international companies harnessing productivity from artificial intelligence, automation, and hardware innovations. The fund charges a 0.50% fee and relies on a proprietary valuation and screening model to locate high-potential tech stocks.
Lazard Asset Management CEO Evan Russo called the launch “a historic milestone,” indicating the firm’s commitment to addressing changing investor requirements with solutions combining research depth, active intelligence and ETF efficiency.
“For decades, Lazard has helped clients build stronger portfolios with world-class actively managed equity strategies,” said Jennifer Ryan, head of North America Distribution.
As macroeconomic uncertainty shakes the markets, active ETFs’ flexibility—and Lazard’s experienced bench of experience behind its new funds—may provide investors with a new method of moving forward.
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