US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has streamlined the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listing process, following a petition by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
ETF issuers will now be able to list new products without filing a document, which NYSE said can “create uncertainty for the issuer.”
The document requires issuers to provide a detailed description of new derivative products before they can be listed, unless they meet the SEC’s approved ‘generic’ listing criteria.
The process will now align the launch process for index based and actively managed ETFs, NYSE explained.
NYSE – which currently lists over 1,500 exchange traded products (ETPs) from over 70 issuers – said it has worked with the industry to simplify the process for issuers since 2000.
Head of ETPs at NYSE, Doug Yones, said the exchange is focused on promoting innovation in the ETF industry and “committed to reducing complexity in US markets to benefit issuers.”
Yones added that NYSE’s efforts to “rationalise the listings process… will provide issuers with greater certainty on timing and efficiency when launching new products.”