One of the most common misconceptions I hear about exchange traded funds (ETFs) is that they are all passively managed, market cap weighted index trackers. While that would describe many of the largest and most popular ETFs, especially the original low-cost trackers of the S&P 500 index, there are an increasing number of actively managed ETFs, mostly in fixed income markets where active managers still claim they have an edge over passive benchmarking.
Below is a quick list of 50 top actively managed ETFs by assets as of November 2018. Although the total expense ratio of many of these funds between 0.25% and 0.75% is higher than that of many passive index trackers, these expense ratios are still not much higher than those of many other bond ETFs, and are often significantly lower than those of actively managed mutual funds (that are not exchange traded).
| Ticker | Name | AUM | TER |
| MINT | PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund | $11.1B | 0.35 |
| NEAR | iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF | $4.9B | 0.25 |
| SRLN | SPDR Blackstone/ GSO Senior Loan ETF | $3.4B | 0.7 |
| FPE | First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF | $3.4B | 0.85 |
| JPST | JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF | $3.3B | 0.18 |
| FTSM | First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF | $3.1B | 0.35 |
| TOTL | SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF | $2.8B | 0.55 |
| PDBC | Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF | $2.5B | 0.59 |
| EMLP | First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | $2.1B | 0.95 |
| BOND | PIMCO Total Return ETF | $1.9B | 0.61 |
| FTSL | First Trust Senior Loan Exchange-Traded Fund | $1.9B | 0.88 |
| LMBS | First Trust Low Duration Mortgage Opportunities ETF | $1.7B | 0.68 |
| GSY | Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF | $1.6B | 0.25 |
| HYLS | First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF | $1.3B | 1.1 |
| ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | $1.2B | 0.75 |
| COMT | iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF | $729.7M | 0.48 |
| VNLA | Janus Short Duration Income ETF | $725.6M | 0.35 |
| GDVD | Principal Active Global Dividend Income ETF | $657.5M | 0.58 |
| ICSH | iShares Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF | $596.8M | 0.08 |
| AMZA | InfraCap MLP ETF | $526.2M | 1.93 |
| ARKW | ARK Web x.0 ETF | $498.2M | 0.75 |
| RFDI | First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Developed International ETF | $486.3M | 0.83 |
| FMB | First Trust Managed Municipal ETF | $456.4M | 0.5 |
| VRIG | Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade ETF | $446.7M | 0.3 |
| FBND | Fidelity Total Bond ETF | $430.4M | 0.36 |
| HYGH | iShares Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond ETF | $414.2M | 0.54 |
| SECT | Main Sector Rotation ETF | $379.7M | 0.78 |
| FIXD | First Trust TCW Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF | $323.6M | 0.55 |
| HTRB | Hartford Total Return Bond ETF | $319.3M | 0.29 |
| YLD | Principal EDGE Active Income ETF | $293.4M | 0.65 |
| MUNI | PIMCO Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund | $274.5M | 0.35 |
| ARKG | ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF | $264.4M | 0.75 |
| GAL | SPDR SSgA Global Allocation ETF | $239.8M | 0.35 |
| IG | Principal Investment Grade Corporate Active ETF | $225.9M | 0.26 |
| WBIH | WBI Bull|Bear Global High Income ETF | $224.3M | 1.21 |
| HUSE | US Equity Rotation Strategy ETF | $222.7M | 1.13 |
| FTGC | First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund | $216.4M | 0.95 |
| LQDH | iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corporate Bond ETF | $215.4M | 0.24 |
| DWLD | Davis Select Worldwide ETF | $213.5M | 0.65 |
| RAVI | FlexShares Ready Access Variable Income Fund | $211.3M | 0.25 |
| LDUR | PIMCO Low Duration ETF | $203.2M | 0.6 |
| FFTI | FormulaFolios Income ETF | $203M | 1.05 |
| FCVT | First Trust SSI Strategic Convertible Securities ETF | $197.5M | 0.95 |
| FTSD | Franklin Short Duration U.S. Government ETF | $191.6M | 0.25 |
| JPHF | JPMorgan Diversified Alternatives ETF | $187.7M | 0.85 |
| FLTB | Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF | $184.5M | 0.36 |
| HYLD | AdvisorShares Peritus High Yield ETF | $181.5M | 1.25 |
| AIEQ | AI Powered Equity ETF | $175.6M | 0.75 |
| JPGB | JPMorgan Global Bond Opportunities ETF | $173.7M | 0.55 |
| ELD | WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund | $167.1M | 0.55 |