A watershed moment occurred for the firm at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday March 6, when Natixis Global AM’s senior leadership and investment teams from Seeyond and Natixis Asset Management – U.S. rang the exchange’s opening bell.

This was the first time anyone affiliated with Natixis have participated in the honor.

The event celebrates the Natixis Seeyond International Minimum Volatility ETF, which is the firm’s first ETF offering. The fund, an actively managed minimum volatility international equity investment strategy, uses the expertise of Seeyond, which is operated in the U.S. through Natixis Asset Management U.S.

About the fund

Launched in October, the Natixis ETF seeks to reduce risk through an investment process that focuses on the volatility and correlation of individual holdings. As an active manager, Seeyond applies manager discretion at all steps of stock selection, including screening and portfolio rebalancing, based on quantitative inputs and qualitative factors. The investment strategy seeks long-term capital appreciation while lowering the volatility associated with international equities.

The ETF seeks to improve risk-adjusted returns by actively mitigating equity volatility and exploiting behavioral biases. In a recent Durable Portfolio Construction Research Center survey of financial advisors, 66% of advisors agree that actively managed strategies are preferred to provide clients with risk-adjusted returns. The survey also showed that nearly 80% of advisors agree that these strategies will play an increased role in portfolios as volatility increases.

ETFs trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk, and will fluctuate in market value. Unlike mutual funds, ETF shares are bought and sold at market price, which may be higher or lower than the ETF’s net asset value. Transactions in shares of ETFs will result in brokerage commissions, which will reduce returns. Active ETF, unlike typical exchange-traded funds, there are no indexes that the Fund attempts to track or replicate. Thus, the ability of the Fund to achieve its objectives will depend on the effectiveness of the portfolio manager.