Janus, the Denver-based firm famous for its mutual funds, filed new paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25 saying any active ETFs it may bring to market once it has approval to do so would be transparent, making its choice consistent with iShares, the biggest ETF company in the world.

The question of transparency in active ETFs is hotly debated in the exchange-traded funds industry at a time when many large mutual fund companies are filing to offer active ETFs. Many say the whole purpose of active management is negated by transparency, though more seem to be saying that the SEC is a long way from approving transparent active ETFs.

The announcement is noteworthy to the extent that actively managed ETFs in general have yet to gain meaningful assets, and some industry sources have suggested that making active ETFs less transparent, like actively managed mutual funds are, might be a way to jump-start asset-gathering. While indexed ETFs disclose portfolio holdings daily, mutual funds typically do so with a three-month lag.

“After considering a variety of alternatives, Applicants determined that the best approach to providing a level of transparency that permits efficient arbitrage without compromising the statutory and fiduciary responsibilities of the Adviser would be to provide full transparency of each Fund’s portfolio,” Janus’ filing said.

In its initial filing in September, Janus cast as wide a net. It said the first fund it launches under its so-called exemptive relief filing would have an investment objective integrating long-term growth of capital and current income through equities of companies of any size and fixed-income securities of various maturities and quality from governments and corporations. It will be able to hold a broad array of U.S. and non-U.S. securities, the filing said.

Janus also said it might launch funds-of-funds ETFs, and that any funds it brings to market will not invest in swaps, options and futures. Its decision regarding derivatives use is likely to move the regulatory approval process along relatively quickly given the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision a year ago to review actively managed funds and those that include derivatives in their strategies.

On Friday, the SEC approved iShares' application to market active ETFs, raising the question of whether mutual fund firms like Janus are now under greater pressure to become part of the growing ETF juggernaut.

Janus is one of a number of reputable firms, such as Legg Mason, Dreyfus and Alliance Bernstein, that have built their reputations on actively managed mutual funds and are now filing with the SEC to market  ETFs. The first exchange-traded fund, the SPDR S&P (NYSEArca: SPY), was launched in 1993. As of March 25, total assets is SPY and in the U.S ETF industry totaled $89.84 billion and $1.063 trillion, respectively.

Janus’s filing and those of all the other firms are petitions for “exemptive relief,” which grants ETF firms exception to sections of the Investment Act of 1940. Such filings are 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.