As Cash-Back ETF Hits Market, Signs of Trouble Start to Mount

  • Fund providers have aggressively slashed fees in recent weeks
  • Ultra-low cost model could “backfire” for asset managers

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There’s a whiff of desperation among asset managers in their seemingly never-ending war on fund fees.

Last week, one ETF upstart created a minor splash by doing what was once unthinkable -- offering to pay investors to buy into its exchange-traded fund. That comes on the heels of eight fund providers -- including JPMorgan Chase, Vanguard and BlackRock to name a few -- all slashing fees in one of the industry’s most aggressive rounds of price cuts to date.