WisdomTree, the New York-based fund company known for its exchange-traded funds that are based on fundamentally weighted indexes focusing on dividend and income, filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would extend its ETF franchise into the fund-of-funds realm.

The initial fund-of-funds the firm plans once its “exemptive relief” filing is approved by the SEC, will be designed to make monthly cash payout while providing returns that correspond to the price and yield of an index of large-capitalization equity securities listed on U.S. securities exchanges, the filing said.

Funds-of-funds invest in whole funds rather than investing directly in stocks, bonds, cash or other investments. The initial fund will charge for its own direct expenses, in addition to bearing a proportionate share of the expenses charged by the underlying funds in which it invests, the filing said.

An exemptive relief order from the SEC grants ETF firms exception to sections of the Investment Act of 1940, and is just the first step in the path to launching ETFs. It often takes at least six to 12 months from the date of the initial filing for a company’s first ETF to hit the market.