Donahue: Permanent Relief
By Journal of Indexes Staff

Andrew Donahue, director of investment research for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reiterated his promise to eliminate the exemptive relief requirement for certain index-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and to streamline the approval process for ETFs in general.

The SEC has been under fire over the past few years for lengthy delays in the ETF approval process; delays that some say are sapping the competitive position of the U.S. ETF industry. Donahue wants to change that. In previous statements, he has noted that ETFs are the only financial products that cannot be launched without exemptive relief. And as everyone knows, time equals money in the ETF business.