Joshua Pace, president and CEO of Denver-based, independent RIA custodian, Trust Company of America (TCA), recently launched the firm's first select ETF program, ETF Custody Advantage.

Lindsay Faussone Trust Company of America VP Business Development

The new platform serves as TCA's answer to NTF ETF programs at other RIA custodians, and currently offers 60 ETFs from two providers — Guggenheim and Global X.

Lindsay Faussone, VP of business development at TCA, says she's looking to bring on more partners. Her primary focus is on offering clients a diversified set of products and establishing deep relationships with the asset managers.

"We're not trying to make a huge marketplace," explains Faussone.

TCA plans to cap the number of asset managers to five or six, with each offering between 20 and 30 products in the program.

Faussone wants partners who are willing to put their teams behind the program and work with TCA to get in front of advisors together. According to a statement from TCA, Guggenheim and Global X plan to provide advisors and their clients with educational resources.

The new platform functions much like an NTF platform at RIA custodians. TCA uses an asset-based pricing structure as opposed to a pure transaction-based structure, so instead of waiving transaction fees for funds on the ETF Custody Advantage platform, TCA provides advisors with a custody fee offset for assets invested in any of the funds on the platform.

When looking for initial collaborators for the platform, Faussone says that Guggenheim's strong relationship with TCA advisors made the partnership a natural fit. The pull to Global X, a $4.85-billion AUM shop with a suite of 57 ETFs, was their niche focus and unique product line-up. Currently, there are 37 Guggenheim funds and 23 Global X funds on TCA's new ETF platform.

Since TCA doesn't offer funds of its own, it provides fundsters with a non-competitive partnership and can afford to give asset managers the reporting they need, says Faussone.

TCA was founded in 1972 and currently custodies $15.3 billion in assets.  

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