The Leuthold Group, a Minneapolis-based research and investment management firm, has taken another step toward the exchange-traded funds marketplace by converting one of its mutual funds into an ETF.
The Leuthold Select ETF (LST), which is being converted from the 25-year-old Leuthold Select Industries mutual fund, began trading Tuesday morning.
Founded in 1981 as a research firm, Leuthold launched its first mutual fund in 1995 and now has a total of three mutual funds after the conversion.
Leuthold, which has $1.1 billion under management, entered the ETF space in 2020 with the Leuthold Core ETF (LCR), which tactically invests in stocks and bonds. LCR, which has grown to $81 million, carries a five-star rating from Morningstar and currently ranks in the 55th percentile of the tactical allocation category.
The converted LST ETF, which is also actively managed, employs a capital appreciation strategy that concentrates on equity group selection and rotation based on dynamic market themes.
The mutual fund conversion is becoming an increasingly popular on-ramp to the ETF space with more than 55 mutual funds converted last year, up from 35 in 2023 and 20 in 2022.
The latest data on the mutual fund from which LST was converted shows a 13.2% gain last year and a five-year annualized gain of 12.7%.
LST is managed by Leuthold’s Director of Equities Scott Opsal and Portfolio Managers Greg Swenson and Chun Wang.
The LST portfolio is allocated across 20 industry sectors, topped by communications services, systems software, and homebuilding.
A company spokesperson said no one from Leuthold was immediately available to comment on this story.
As part of a prepared statement, Leuthold Chief Investment Officer, Doug Ramsey described LST as a “longstanding, proven investment discipline” that is tapping into the “operational ease and tax benefits of an ETF.”
“We’ve been pleased with the performance and market reception of LCR, so it was a natural progression to convert Select Industries to an ETF,” Ramsey added.