There were 68 active fund launches in the third quarter as of Sept. 22, compared to 49 indexed fund launches, according to CFRA. Passive funds still make up the majority of the ETF market, and they typically cost less than active products. JEPI, the biggest active ETF, has underperformed the S & P 500 this year but is still attracting new cash. "One of the problems with straightforward active funds, and we do run some straightforward active funds, is that very often ... you are tethered to that broad index, whatever happens to be in that. Abbott's firm launched five new active funds last week, including the Matthews Japan Active ETF (JPAN) .

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Persons: Rachel Aguirre, Euan Munro, BNY Mellon, Cooper Abbott, Stephanie Pierce, Dreyfus, Jeremy Grantham's, Abbott Organizations: BlackRock, CNBC, JPMorgan —, Nasdaq, Newton Asset Management, BNY, Matthews Asia, Matthews Japan Active, SEC, Mellon & Exchange, BNY Mellon Investment Management Locations: BALI, BlackRock