According to CoinDesk, only six of the 13 applicants for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) have announced their management fees, with approvals expected as early as next week. As all the funds will hold the same asset, bitcoin, fees will play a critical role in differentiating them. Bloomberg Intelligence’s ETF analyst James Seyffart said that fees will be crucial for remaining competitive. The expense ratio, which covers costs like custodial services and marketing, averaged 0.37% for open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in 2022, according to Morningstar research.
Invesco and Galaxy set the bar by waiving fees for the first six months and the first $5 billion in assets, after which they will charge 0.59%. Fidelity set the fee at 0.39%, the lowest so far, while Ark, 21Shares, and Valkyrie plan to charge 0.80%. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has yet to announce its fee, but Seyffart predicts it will be around Fidelity's 0.39%, while Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, sees it between 0.40% and 0.80%. Fidelity has a potential advantage due to its in-house custodian and direct access to investors and advisers through its platform.
