Transamerica Enters Active ETF Arena with New Value and Bond Funds

BALTIMORE, MD – December 16, 2025 – Financial services giant Transamerica made a significant move into one of the industry's fastest-growing sectors today, launching its first two actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange. The new funds, Transamerica Large Value Active ETF (ticker: TALV) and Transamerica Bond Active ETF (ticker: TABD), signal a strategic expansion for the firm, aiming to blend active investment oversight with the modern, flexible structure of an ETF.

This launch marks a pivotal moment for the 120-year-old company, traditionally known for its life insurance and retirement products. By entering the active ETF space, Transamerica is positioning itself to capture a new segment of investors who seek the potential for alpha generation from active management but demand the liquidity, transparency, and potential tax efficiency that ETFs provide. The move follows the firm's previous forays into the ETF market with its "DeltaShares" strategic beta products, indicating an evolution of its strategy rather than a completely new direction.

"We're meeting investors where they are, making our strategies easier to access, easier to understand and easier to act on," said Marijn Smit, president and CEO of Transamerica Asset Management, in a statement accompanying the launch. "These ETFs reflect our commitment to practical, long term portfolio building, giving investors new ways to pursue their financial goals to live their best life."

A Strategic Entry into a Crowded Field

Transamerica’s debut comes at a time when the market for actively managed ETFs is both burgeoning and intensely competitive. While passive, index-tracking funds still dominate the ETF landscape, active strategies have gained significant traction as investors look for skilled managers to navigate volatile markets. Transamerica is not just entering this field; it is doing so by leaning on its established philosophy of partnering with specialized external asset managers.

This sub-advisory model is central to the launch. Instead of building new management teams from scratch, Transamerica has tapped established firms to run the day-to-day investment decisions, effectively acting as a curator of talent. This approach allows the company to bring what it considers best-in-class expertise to its clients under the Transamerica brand, a strategy that has long defined its mutual fund business.

The challenge, however, will be differentiation. Both the equity and bond ETF categories are crowded with products from established players like Fidelity, JPMorgan, and PIMCO, who have already amassed tens of billions in assets in their active ETF offerings. Transamerica will be competing on the strength of its chosen managers, its fee structure, and its vast distribution network.

Under the Hood: A Look at the New Funds

The two new funds target core components of a diversified portfolio: large-cap U.S. stocks and fixed income.

The Transamerica Large Value Active ETF (TALV) seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of large-capitalization companies that its managers believe are undervalued. The fund enters the market with a capped expense ratio of 0.49%. While competitive for active management, this fee is notably higher than the large-cap value ETF category average of 0.36% and significantly above the ultra-low costs of passive index equivalents, some of which charge as little as 0.04%. The fund’s gross expense ratio stands at 0.76%, with the cap contractually in place through January 28, 2029, a detail cost-conscious investors will need to monitor.

On the fixed-income side, the Transamerica Bond Active ETF (TABD) aims for total return through a mix of current income and capital appreciation. The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its assets in fixed-income securities. It features a more competitive capped expense ratio of 0.39% (gross 0.57%), positioning it to challenge other active bond funds. This fund will need to prove its ability to generate returns that justify its fee over passive benchmarks like the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index.

As newly organized funds, both TALV and TABD have no performance history, a common hurdle for any new product launch. Prospective investors will have to base their decisions on the credibility of the underlying strategy and the track records of the sub-advisors.

The Power of Partnership: Leveraging Sub-Advisor Expertise

Transamerica is banking on the reputations of its chosen partners to attract assets. The success of these ETFs will largely depend on the performance of their sub-advisors, a key part of the value proposition.

TALV is sub-advised by Great Lakes Advisors, a Chicago-based firm with a long and established history in value investing. The firm’s Large Cap Value strategy, with an inception date of October 1, 2000, claims a strong long-term track record, reporting outperformance against its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, in 20 of the last 24 years on a gross-of-fees basis. By packaging this established process into an ETF, Transamerica offers investors continuity with a strategy that has been tested over multiple market cycles.

TABD is managed by the multisector fixed income team at Aegon Asset Management, LLC, a global asset manager and an affiliate of Transamerica. The team employs a research-intensive approach that combines bottom-up fundamental security selection with top-down macroeconomic analysis. With decades of experience in global fixed income markets, Aegon's team provides the institutional depth and expertise required to navigate the complexities of interest rate movements, credit risk, and global economic trends. This partnership leverages the scale and deep resources of a global investment house to power the new bond ETF.

By highlighting these partnerships, Transamerica is underscoring its 'Investor First' philosophy, which posits that no single firm excels at every asset class. The model relies on rigorous due diligence to select specialized managers, aiming to deliver superior, risk-adjusted returns over the long term. This strategy now extends from its mutual fund family into the ETF wrapper, providing a new access point for investors and financial advisors who favor the ETF structure.