What's in an ETF's name ... or ticker? The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Ensign reports that clever marketing, such as having catchy symbols, is needed to be noticed in a crowded market like that of exchange-traded funds.

"It's kind of like when you have vanity plates on your car," Laura Morrison, senior vice president of global index and exchange-traded products at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) told the WSJ.

"All things being equal, if you've got a more memorable ticker symbol, then people will be remembering you more, " Ryan Issakainen, ETF strategist at First Trust [profile], reportedly said. The problem is, he added, "all things are never equal."

The WSJ reports that finding a catchy symbol can be tough, given that there are already 1,350 symbols in use on the NYSE Arca alone, which is the biggest US ETF market. There are also 2,446 symbols which are already reserved by firms for their future offerings, and about six new ones are reserved everyday, according to Morrison. Global X [profile] sales chief Justin Young told the pub that they usually go through 10 to 15 possible tickers before choosing which is available and memorable.

Firms have different strategies in coming up with their tickers. At Direxion Funds [profile], senior vice president of marketing David Fajardo found inspiration for one pair of tickers when he saw his son's t-shirt. # 

Edited by: HFD


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