The folks at a publicly traded brokerage's $1.3-trillion-AUM (as of September 30) asset manager are poised to debut their 11th fixed income ETF less than two weeks from now.

Omar Aguilar Schwab Asset Management CEO, Chief Investment Officer

This morning, Nicohl Bogan, head of passive product management and innovation at Schwab Asset Management [profile], unveiled the upcoming launch of the Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF (SMBS on the NYSE Arca). Also today, the Schwab AM team filed details about the planned index fund.

Bogan confirms that the Schwab AM team expects to roll SMBS out for trading on November 19. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (dba Schwab Asset Management) will serve as the new, passively managed ETF's investment advisor.

SMBS will come with an expense ratio of three basis points. According to the Schwab team, that's "in line with the lowest-priced peer ETFs based on the U.S. Mortgage Lipper category."

Bloomberg Finance L.P. will serve as SMBS' index provider, and the ETF is designed to track the Bloomberg US MBS Float Adjusted Total Return Index. SMBS' PM team will include: Matthew Hastings, managing director and head of bond index strategies at Schwab AM; and Mark McKissick and Alfonso Portillo, Jr., both senior portfolio managers.

Bogan frames the upcoming launch of SMBS by noting that the Schwab AM team is "deeply committed to helping clients with their fixed income investing needs," especially during "a notable period for the fixed income market."

"This launch is a prime example of how we are leveraging our scale and deep capital markets expertise to bring investors and advisors competitively priced offerings that provide core market exposures for well-diversified portfolios," Bogan states.

SMBS will be a series of Schwab Strategic Trust. THe planned ETF's other service providers will include: Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent accounting firm; SEI Investments Distribution Co. as distributor; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian, fund accountant, and transfer agent. 

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