GMO's ETF share class costs more than the fund's $35 million Class III shares
The ETF charges 0.75%, above the 0.68% on Class III shares that require $35 million with GMO, while Allspring listed three classes of existing funds and four other listings are new.
Key takeaways
GMO and Allspring Global Investments this week listed ETF tickers on mutual funds they already run, and the GMO class costs more than shares that require $35 million with the firm.
A buyer of the ticker is not getting a new portfolio. The ETF class and the mutual fund classes are one pool, so the strategy is the one the fund already runs.
GMO says trading in either class can create transaction costs and tax consequences for shareholders in the other. Allspring says the same for the classes it listed. The fee is set by the class, and the costs of moving money through the portfolio are shared.
A fee shown after a reimbursement or a waiver can rise when that arrangement ends.
The GMO International Equity ETF, GMIE, is listed on the NYSE, with an inception date of Oct. 20, 2026. It charges 0.75% after a reimbursement that runs until at least Sept. 30, 2027. The gross charge is 0.90%.
Class III of the same fund, the share class that requires $35 million with GMO, costs 0.68% after a reimbursement through at least June 30, 2027. The gross charge in its June 30, 2026 prospectus is 0.72%.
A buyer who does not have $35 million with GMO cannot buy that class. The ETF is the way in, and it costs more than Class III now. It would still cost more if the reimbursements end.
The ETF class costs more than Class III, net and gross
- GMIE
- Class III
- Net
- GMIE 0.8%
- Class III 0.7%
- Gross
- GMIE 0.9%
- Class III 0.7%
GMO said on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that a partner is converting more than $200 million of mutual fund shares into the class. The fund has run since 1987.
The same day, Allspring said three classes began trading on Nasdaq: the Allspring Short-Term High Income Fund - ETF Class, AHIC, the Allspring Strategic Municipal Bond Fund - ETF Class, ASTM, and the Allspring High Yield Municipal Bond Fund - ETF Class, AHYM. The strategic municipal fund has run since 1985.
AHIC charges 0.45% after a waiver through Dec. 31, 2027, and 0.52% before it, for an active fund that expects an average effective maturity of three years or less. BlackRock's iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, SHYG, charges 0.30% as of its Feb. 27, 2026 prospectus to track high-yield bonds maturing in under five years. The active class costs more, and the gap widens if the waiver is not renewed.
AHYM charges 0.50% after a waiver through Oct. 31, 2027, and 0.65% before it. Under normal circumstances the fund keeps at least half its assets in municipal bonds rated BBB or below.
BlackRock's iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF, HIMU, also active in high-yield municipals, charges 0.39% net on its June 30, 2026 fact sheet. Allspring's class costs more even after the waiver.
VanEck High Yield Muni ETF, HYD, an index fund in the same market, charges 0.32% on its Sept. 30, 2026 fact sheet. That index fund is cheaper, and it is not this strategy.
ASTM charges 0.42%, with no waiver, and it may put up to 35% of assets in below-investment-grade municipal bonds. Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF, VTEB, charges 0.03% as of Feb. 27, 2026, to track an investment-grade municipal index. That is not the same product: ASTM is an active fund that can hold junk, and a buyer who wants the cheap investment-grade index is not looking at this ticker.
Four listings that are new funds
The PRIMECAP Odyssey Discovery ETF from PRIMECAP Odyssey Funds, POMG, has an inception date of Oct. 20, 2026, and trades on NYSE Arca. It is a separate series, not an ETF class of a mutual fund, and it charges 0.68% to invest primarily in U.S. mid-cap companies. Its benchmark is the Russell Midcap Growth Index.
BlackRock's iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF, IWP, charges 0.23% as of its July 31, 2026 prospectus to track that index. The 0.68% is the price of PRIMECAP's stock-picking, not of mid-cap growth exposure.
BlackRock announced Wednesday the iShares Future Robotics and Related Technologies Active ETF, RBTX, with a launch date of Oct. 20. It lists on NYSE Arca and charges 0.65%. It uses the MSCI ACWI Net, a global stock index, as its benchmark, and BlackRock said it invests in companies that develop, support, supply, service, enable or implement the automation of physical tasks.
Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF, BOTZ, charges 0.68% as of its April 1, 2026 prospectus to track a robotics and artificial intelligence index. This is the new listing priced under the index fund in its theme, and it is active.
Thrivent listed two funds on Nasdaq on Wednesday. Thrivent Large Cap Stock ETF, TLCE, charges 0.30% for an active portfolio of U.S. large-cap stocks. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, VOO, charges 0.03% as of April 28, 2026, to track the S&P 500.
TLCE is not priced as a core index holding. The 0.30% is the cost of active stock-picking.
Thrivent Securitized Income ETF, TSIE, charges 0.40%. The prospectus says it invests at least 80% of assets in securitized debt, including agency and non-agency mortgage bonds, asset-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations. Its benchmark is the Bloomberg US MBS index, a mortgage-bond gauge narrower than that policy.
BlackRock's iShares MBS ETF, MBB, charges 0.04% as of its June 29, 2026 prospectus to track agency mortgage-backed securities. The extra fee buys an active book that can leave that index.
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