A liquid alternatives ETF specialist has officially found a new home, as expected.

Today Drew Lawton, CEO of New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM [profile]), confirms that the asset manager (an insurance company subsidiary) has closed on its purchase of IndexIQ [profile]. The deal, first unveiled in December, had been slated to close in the first half of this year. It adds IndexIQ's $1.7 billion in assets under management to NYLIM's more than $310 billion in AUM (about $101 billion of which is in MainStay).

In December when the deal was first revealed, IndexIQ CEO and co-founder Adam Patti told told MFWire that IndexIQ would keep its brand while its funds (at the time, 11 ETFs and 1 traditional mutual fund) would add NYLIM's MainStay mutual fund brand to its funds, calling them MainStayIQ funds. And he confirmed that the "full team" of 18 people at IndexIQ would make the move to NYLIM.

IndexIQ's ETF count has risen to 13 from 11 since December. As for branding, a spokesman for NYLIM now tells MFWire that, although MainStay will be distributing IndexIQ's funds, those funds and the boutique itself will both keep the IndexIQ brand.

Stephen Fisher, co-president of NYLIM and president of MainStay, praises IndexIQ as "a pioneer and true leader in the ETF industry." And he hinted at how the NYLIM team plans to build on the IndexIQ deal.

"We look forward to leveraging their already robust ETF platform as a gateway for NYLIM and our boutiques to add new and innovative ETF solutions in the future," Fisher states. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE