Natixis Loomis Sayles launches two active bond ETFs

On June 24, Natixis Investment Managers and Loomis Sayles launched the Natixis Loomis Sayles Total Return Bond ETF (LSTB) and the Natixis Loomis Sayles Dynamic Core Plus ETF (LSCP). Each ETF carries a 0.39% expense ratio and seeks to outperform the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The ETFs convert Loomis Sayles’ active fixed‑income strategies into an exchange‑traded format. According to a press release, the flagship mutual fund strategies that informed the ETF launches hold about $25 billion in combined assets. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate tracks the U.S. investment‑grade bond market, including Treasuries, corporate debt and asset‑backed securities.

LSTB aims for high total return by investing across maturities and credit ratings. Portfolio managers target bonds they view as undervalued after analyzing issuer credit strength. Security selection emphasizes expected value at maturity over short‑term price moves, with interest‑rate and market trends treated as secondary factors.

LSCP follows a benchmark‑aware core‑plus approach. The fund keeps effective duration within plus or minus 1.5 years of the Bloomberg Aggregate and allocates across benchmark sectors and out‑of‑benchmark “Plus” sectors. Managers use top‑down macroeconomic analysis to set sector, duration and liquidity positions and rely on bottom‑up credit research to select individual securities.

Both ETFs use the ETF structure to offer daily portfolio transparency, potential tax efficiency and intraday liquidity while retaining active management from Loomis Sayles portfolio teams.

Active fixed‑income ETFs have attracted substantial inflows this year; for example, one multisector active ETF reported $4.4 billion in inflows and one core‑plus bond ETF reported $4.1 billion over the same period. The new funds extend Loomis Sayles’ mutual fund strategies into ETF wrappers.