Claymore Securities, an exchange-traded fund provider best known for its niche investment strategies, launched a trio of equity ETFs on Tuesday that track three separate broad-based Wilshire indexes in a move that opens a new front of business development for the Lisle, Ill.-based firm.

The broadest of the three, the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index ETF (NYSEArca: WFVK), will be based on the Wilshire Total Market Index and compete with similar offerings from firms including State Street Global Advisors, Vanguard and BlackRock.

SSgA offers the closest competing fund, the SPDR Dow Jones Total Market ETF (NYSEArca: TMW). Until about a year ago, TMW was based on the same Wilshire index as WFVK, and even today tracks a very similar benchmark. WFVK does beat TMW on fees, however, charging just 0.12 percent in annual expenses compared with 0.21 percent for TMW.

Claymore’s wager that investors will want to broaden their investment exposure as the market recovery enters its second year reflects the company’s increased ambitions since being acquired in October by Guggenheim Partners, the company said. Claymore, the 13^th-largest U.S. ETF firm, has until now staked its claim in the ETF market by rolling out focused sector funds such as the first solar power ETF (NYSEArca: TAN) and a fund comprising companies involved in shipping (NYSEArca: SEA).

“I think this is a great indication of what we can expect more of from Claymore after the Guggenheim acquisition,” William Belden, managing director at Claymore who oversees new product development, said in a telephone interview conducted before the funds began trading. “Actually the introduction to Wilshire was done for us by Guggenheim.”

Belden said that while the presence of Guggenheim will allow Claymore to continue broadening its horizons, it won’t turn its back on its reputation as a purveyor of sector funds. He said Claymore is likely to make more SEC filings soon that would further indicate the company’s new strategic direction.

David Hall, senior managing director with Wilshire Associates, said in a telephone interview that broad-based ETFs like the three launching today give individual investors working with advisers the tools they need to invest much like larger institutions do. It’s no secret that large investors such as pension funds have long favored broad-based indexing strategies.

The Other Two Funds

The second ETF that begins trading today is the Wilshire 4500 Completion Index ETF (NYSEArca: WXSP). It’s designed for investors who already have exposure to the S&P 500 Index, covering the largest U.S. companies, but want to own the full spectrum of smaller U.S. companies as well. WXSP has an annual fee of 0.18 percent, or 18 basis points. (100 basis points is equal to 1 percentage point.)

The final fund in the new trio is the Wilshire US Real Estate Investment Trust Index ETF (NYSEArca: WREI). Its annual expense ratio is 32 basis points.

Broad market exposure eliminates the possibility of selection bias and also can smooth out some of the market’s volatility, Claymore said in statement on Tuesday. More often than not, it hasn’t been the large-cap stocks that comprise the S&P 500 that have led the market. Rather, it’s been mid-, small- or micro-cap companies that have offered the best performance, the company said.

Claymore has $2.8 billion in ETF assets under management in the U.S.